Black Shudder
by Mismatch-lover
Summary: 18 year old Alys finds her black dragon. He tells Alys that he will commit his life to her if she agrees to help him collect the Orb's by becoming his warmth. Can Alys get through this adventure alive, or was she doomed from the start? On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

I never had any intention to be late; but Mistress Jasslee still let me get an earful when I arrived home.

"I told you to be back _before_dinner!" She scolded, scooting me into the kitchen area. "Daiken and I have been worried sick!" I stummbled into the kitchen, the mister of the home, Daiken, smiling up at me, the table set with some biscuits and stew.

"Ah, Alys," he calmly greeted. "We've been waiting."

"I-I am sorry," I apologized yet again, feeling suddenly guilty for making them wait."I lost track of time, the sun doesn't seem to move as I swim around."

"Tsk, tsk!" Was all Mistress mumbled. Daiken smiled at me.

" At least you are safely home," he calmly said, clasping his hands together to say a quick prayer to God. He dropped his hands and turned solemn as he watched me dish my food. "It is said that bandit activity has increased lately; wouldn't want to get mugged or killed."

I only nodded in response, my mouth too full of stew to even speak. Mistress quickly mopped up the wet puddles I had brought in.

"Go put some dry clothes on, Alys," She commanded, eyeing my damp rags. "You'll catch cold if you run around in wet bandages." I dipped the roll in the soups broth and chomped off some before answering with a full mouth.

"Okay,I will."

I quickly slurped up the rest of my meal before taking the bowl to the sink. Mistress took it and added it to the pile of dishes she was planning of washing.

"You swim everyday," she pointed out, drying a dish. I took a rag and cleaned up the table while Daiken helped put the dishes in our old, wooden cupboards. "Don't you ever get sick of getting wet everyday? It's becoming winter as well; you're sure to catch a flu."

I laughed at her silly question. "I love swimming, mistress. I feel like a mermaid or a beautiful fish!"

Mistress scolded. "You know no such thing as mermaids exist, child."

"You didn't think dragons existed, either," I reminded her. "But one attacked us not more than a year ago. Surely, you must believe somewhat." Mistress 'huffed' and continued doing the dishes.

Daiken smiled his friendly smile at me and waved me away with his hand. "Go and get dress, Alys. Then I need you to run to Pastor Hikle to deliver a present Jasslee has made for him."

I walked to my small room. It was very clean, considering I was never in it besides when I slept. I changed into a peasant dress, tieing the bodice as nicely as I could by myself. The torso area was a little baggy, since I had no breast to fill the empty space. Twelve years old, and I still had no figure.

Mistress handed me the homemade present she had made, a nice robe for the Pastor to wear in the evenings. She also gave me two silver pieces and told me to buy some milk and cheese from Margret Mallroy on the way home.

As I left my house, a small little hut that was no bigger than any other person's in the village, I glanced around first to caution myself. Daiken had warned me about bandits, and I surely did not want to encounter one. I observed that the coast was clear, and I headed towards the St. Careloon Chapel. It was much smaller than what one would think, but it was still nice. The village huts were strewn about in a orderly fashion in front of the chapel. Our hut was merely a few houses away, but the Inn and Margrets house sat between us and the chapel.

I passed the noisy Inn, hearing men bellow out as ones told jokes and drake ale. The light flooded onto the street, lighting up a small path for me, for the sky was becoming darker and darker by the minute. The air started to get colder, I realized, as it started to bite at my nose.

However, the Chapel was nice and warm as I pushed through the oaken doors. Pastor Hikle was at the podium, reading the bible with the silver candlesticks resting behind him on another small table. He glanced up at me, and smiled, his beady black eyes squinting as his cheeks lifted.

"Child Alys, whatever brings you this lovely evening?"

I held out the robe as I approached him. "Mistress wanted to give this to you. As a gift." The Pastor was very pleased as he took the robe, and held it under one arm.

"Many thanks to her, Daiken, and you yourself, dear."

I bowed my response. I straightened to ask a question. "Any interesting news lately, Pastor? This one is mighty curious."

The Pastor licked his lips, like he was getting ready to talk quite a bit."Well, there was a brawl just north of here," he started, pointing in the general direction."There were many, many men fighting to kill a dragon."

I tensed. "A dragon?"

"Aye, a dragon of pure black; the worst kind there is! Black dragons are known to be deceiving little creatures..." He paused briefly, like he was reminding himself of the story. "It had eaten the locals livestock and the village-men were very upset. They took their swords and ran after the beast." He made a quick sign of the cross before continuing. "I've heard though, however, that they never killed the beast, only mortally wounded it. They figured, as it flew away into the distance, that it would fall and die on it's own."

I paused for a moment, considering. "He would die... Alone?" I murmured, looking up into the pastors eyes.

"Do no feel sympathy for the creature, dear Alys. Dragons feel no emotion."

I took that into consideration, but still felt a little sad. _Nobody wishes to die alone,_ I thought, looking away. _Even if they're not human._ "Thank you, Pastor, for your time." I bowed my head, then left the chapel.

Margret seemed to be waiting for me as I walked out of the chapel towards her house. She was a lonely widow who's husband died of the winter sickness two years ago. She relied on her little goat to produce enough milk to sell to keep her striving.

"The normal, Ms. Mallroy, please." She handed me the small block of hand-made cheese and a clear bottle of milk. I gave her the two silver coins and smiled at her.

"You're going to have the most beautiful smile when you're older, my dear Alys." My smile melted into a confused look. Margret laughed lowly, reaching out to touch my face, but I reflexively took a step back. She laughed at my response, taking back her hand. "Just you wait and see." I had to remind myself that Margret had gone a little crazy since the death of her husband.

But I still thanked her, and left the house in a hurry.

The next morning was a little bit more colder than it had been the previous morning. I woke up, shocked to find that goosebumps had risen on my arms when I climbed out of my bed. I wrapped myself in the blanket and walked out to the kitchen. Mistress was cooking breakfast; smelling like heated up soup from last night and maybe some porridge. I sat at the table, gazing out our kitchen window. It was all foggy, and the sun could just barely peek through.

"Mistress," I calmly asked. "How cold is it outside this morning."

A thin, worked hand appeared in front of me, placing a bowl of porridge on the table. "Cold enough to freeze the tears of the small children whom lost a mother," she replied, turning back to the counter. I picked up the spoon she had gave me, and took a bite of the cold porridge.

"Where's Daiken?" He normally would be up before me. Mistress didn't answer right away, which told me something was wrong. "What happened?" I almost shrieked. "He didn't get hurt, did he?"

"No, no, lower your voice," Mistress demanded. "He's just felt very ill lately; he went to the pastor for help."

I bowed my head as if to pray. _Hopefully he'll get better_, I thought, wishing with all my heart.

Once my bowl was polished, the sun had broken through the darkness, and the cottage was getting warmer. I stood from the table, going back to my room. I quickly undressed and wrapped myself in my 'swimming clothes' which was simply bandages wrapped around my torso and hips and thighs (if I even had any). I put my clothes over to trick the Mistress. I walked back out, waving at her.

"Well, I'm off. If Daiken gets home before I do, tell him I wish him the best." I took a step out the door.

"Wait, Alys." Mistress called to me. "If you're going swimming, I want you to take your bat; Daiken warned us about the rise of mugs lately."

"S-sure," I replied, a little miffed that she knew about my swimming plans.

I collected my wooden bat by the door as I walked out. I've never had to use it, but Daiken still taught me how to weild the bat. I said goodbye one more time before closing the door behind me.

My swimming place was precious to me; no one else besides me knew where it was. It was hidden among the trees, and it would be very difficult to find if you didn't know where you were going. I found it by mere accident; I had been wandering around in the forest looking for a certain herb Mistress wanted. I found myself lost, but I ended up coming upon my swimming hole instead. I spent the day swimming in it before I followed the river way back to the village.

It took me a while to find it again after that, not daring to go back up the water way due to someone in the village seeing were I was going and follow. I found another path, one that was well hidden. Only my eyes could see the small signs that I had made for a path to the pond.

It was a nice little opening, the water always shining brightly in the was only a couple of times were I've found a dead body in the waters. The village up near the place where the river started was a crime filled town; massacres were always going on there. The stream's waters were very clean half of the time, but, it was still a nice luxury if you thought of it.

The trees opened up in a small oval above the waters surface, shadowing the gray rocks that edged the pool in little spots that resembled leaves and branches. When you'd walk up from my 'hidden' path, the shore you were standing on would have tree roots breaching from the ground, making a nice seat. On the opposite shore was a little dug-out into the side of the hill, defiantly made from weathering. The rocks were small little pebbles over there, a change that I had made in order for some comfort when I stayed nights here in the summer.

I happily smacked through the branches of the forest, the sun already peeping through the trees thick, green canvas. I started stripping of my clothes before I got to the swimming hole, very eager to get there for some reason. By the time I got to the clearing with the tree roots poking up everywhere, I was in my swimming bandages, my bare toes curling around the warm rocks. I placed the bat against a rock hastily.

I threw my clothes over one of the roots, about to splash noisily into the water, when suddenly, I stopped.

I gasped when I looked across my pond.

A giant black object was piled over under the dug-out, and it was moving; it was breathing. I stared, not moving, studying the object. It had scales, shimmering black scales that glimmered so brightly in the dim morning light.

I took a step back, breathing in slowly. I hoped that the thing didn't notice me, and maybe I could get away.

However, the object was suddenly moving, and before I knew it, two beautiful golden eyes were staring at me, a head lifting up from the black blob.

It was a black dragon.

A _small_ dragon; but still a dragon, none-of-the-less!

I tried to take a step back, but my body was frozen under the dragons deep, cold stare. I shakily held up my hands, clasping them together. I found myself on my knees, my head bowed.

"Please, Mr. Dragon, please forgive me for intruding your sleep!"

There was no response, and when I looked up, the dragon had put it's head down again. It's breaths were rough, ragged, like it was in pain.

I unfolded myself from the ground, standing slowly. "Hey, Mr. Dragon?" I calmly asked, taking slow unsure steps into the water. "Are you the one that the men tried to kill a little ways away...?" The pastors words suddenly flew in my head-- _he'll die on it's own._

The dragon didn't respond, which gave me a little more courage to dive underwater. I quickly swam to the other side, crawling up onto the shore-- a far distance between me and the dragon. I suddenly fell, slipped on something.

I sat up, groaning in embarrassment. I looked at my hands curled into fists, and gasped. They were covered in blood! I quickly examined myself, seeing where I was injured. None of my skin was broken or slashed... I stared at the pool of blood at my knees, and I followed the path up to where the dragon was laying; the blood was coming from _him._

I stood up quickly, ignoring the awful stench of blood on my hands.

"Are you hurt?" I slowly started walking towards him, making sure that his long talons weren't in reaching distance of me. "Can I help in any way?"

The dragon reacted now, his intense, captivating eyes opening and staring at me in the most confusing way. I knew what he was wondering;_ Why? Why help me, a dragon?_

I answered with the truth I felt. "Nothing should die alone," I stated, grinning widely at him. Then my face fell. "I'm not a pretty maiden like the ones the dragons always want in the fables, but,"--I gave him a quick laugh--" I'm even better. I'm a friend. I want to help."

The dragon looked like he rolled his eyes, but I wasn't sure. I scowled angrily at him. Forgetting that he was a dragon and could slice me into pieces with one sudden move, I stomped up to his face. He watched me warily; not at all afraid. I shoved my hands in his face.

"Let me help; you owe me something. Look, you got my hands all gross and bloody." He gave me a look that I couldn't quite decipher, but it reminded me of a look that said '_that's not my problem._' I growled and him and brought my hands back to my sides.

"Listen," I snapped. " Let me at least heal your wound a little. Or treat it so it'll heal right." The dragon made a throaty noise, and I thought for a moment that he was going to eat me anyways. But, only his wing was lifted, the sound almost deafening. The tip of his wing brushed against the trees branches, making a flock of birds flurry away.

I brought my attention back to the dragons' side. I almost gasped, but instead, gawked. The gash was HUGE! Maybe even the size of my torso, and as wide as any gluttoned fooled man.

"Wow, they, uh..." I struggled for words. "They really got you good, huh?" Blood was pouring out of the gash now, and I noticed that his wing was dripping with the deep red liquid. He must have been using his wing to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. And the stench was almost over bearing!

I had to turn away to take a breath. "Give me a minute," I said quickly, jumping back into the water. I made sure all the blood on my hands was off before I sumberged on the other side. I grabbed my tattered dress that I had worn here, and swam back across the little pool.

The dragon hadn't let his bloodied wing down, and his massive body was heaving with deep breaths. His entrancing gold eyes were studying me intently, watching my every move. I carfully went to his side, watching him watching me. If he was going to kill me, I at least wanted to see it coming. But he only gazed at me as I slowly dabbed at the wound with my wet dress. It was quickly covered in blood, so I had to run back to the pond and wash it out many times.

Soon, I started to concentrate on actually cleaning the wound rather than watch him. It seemed he trusted me now; at least a little. I could say I trusted that he wasn't going to kill me- at least not yet, anyway.

The wound stopped bleeding after a while of dabbing at it with a clothes. I then rubbed away the dried up blood that had crusted around the wound, making his scales shimmer as brightly as the ones on his back.

"There!" I brightly smiled at him. "Now that wasn't that bad, now was it?"

I should have saw my death coming, but I was still surprised when suddenly his wing closed down on me, crushing me against his side.

The wings were still covered with blood; dry blood, but it still was a nasty, metallic smell. I tried to scream, but hysteria got the better side of me and held me still like a frightened baby goat. Why had I left the bat on the other side?

It didn't stop tears from coming to my eyes and flowing down my cheeks. _I'm sorry Mistress_, I thought, clamping my eyes tightly._ For everything that I've done wrong, I guess. And God, I'm terribly sorry that I trusted such a... a trickster. I ignored the signs you tried to send to me..._

I couldn't think of anything that would have been a sign, but that just proved my point more. _Please let Daiken live, too. Mistress needs him._

The dragon growled, his scales bristling slightly behind my back. The growl rumbled deep in his chest, making my body quiver. I bit my bottom lip, a small sob breaking though my lips. "I'm sorry," I whispered. To who?

Myself?

The dragon?

I couldn't be sure, and I wasn't. And why wasn't the dragon crushing my bones, why wasn't he squeezing all my blood out of me? To think of it, there was no more pressure on me, and there was light shining against my closed lids. There was a slight breeze, and there was a smell of water.

I must have died already and was in heaven. I didn't dare open my eyes, however; I must have been afraid of meeting my real parents in heaven.

There was a deep noise, a familiar noise. I opened my eyes, and found my little swimming area, crystal clear. I quickly turned around, staring at the dragon. He was looking at me, still making the deep noise in his throat. I suddenly realized it was a laugh, seeing the clear amusement in his gold eyes.

"Y-you didn't k-kill me?" I stuttered, backing away from the dragon. Once I was far enough away, he folded his wing to his side again, this time, my body being on the outside.

The dragon lowered his head to the rocks again, a rough sigh coming from his nostrils.

I wiped at my face hastily, my cheeks still tear-stained. But more appeared and fell down the curve of my face. I walked slowly to the dragons head, sat in front of his lowered nose, and layed my head on the warm scales.

I cried aloud, then, my sobs no longer silenced. I hid my face in my arms, the breaths coming from his big nostrils tousling my short hair. I pounded my weak fist on his hard scales. "That was an awful trick," I whimpered. "I thought I was dead." My voice broke with sobs.

Once the tears stopped falling, I felt my body fill with weariness from the heat of his scales and the burning sun. I let my eyes droop shut.

I lifted my head from the beasts muzzle. He still had his golden eyes plastered on my tiny frame, only they were a lot more... well, they weren't warm, but they were less cold then they had been before. I wiped at my face, rubbing away the salt that had stayed behind from my tears. I realized that I had fallen asleep on his nose as I groggily sat up.

I sniffled, then my stomach growled. I flushed slightly. "Hey, you hungry?" I stood, brushing my bloodied rags of dirt. "I could catch you a fish or something." The dragon shook his head in the tiniest of ways. "I'm not that good at hunting bigger game; like deer and stuff," I pointed out. "But I guess I could try." The dragon shook it's head in a small way again before I could head out.

"What do you want, then?" I asked, bending over, putting my hands on my knees so I could level my eyes with his.

He gave no response.

I sighed. "Nothing, then?" He made a quick nodding gesture. I stood straight staring up at the sky.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed. It was already getting dark. Where'd all that time go?

I hesitantly turned back to the dragon. His eyes were finally closed, and his breathing had finally calmed.

"Hey," I declared, pointing at the general direction of my village. I waited till the dragon looked up at me. "I live in the village nearby. I'm going home, now, okay?" He closed his eyes again, unconcerned. I bit my lip in hesitation. "I-if you need anymore help, I'll be there, okay?"

The dragon opened his amazing, golden eyes and stared into my eyes, into my very soul. Then laughed deeply in his throat. I flushed, turned, swam across the water, grabbed the wooden bat, and ran all the way home.

I made it home before dinner this time, Mistress and Daiken (to my intense pleasure) were just setting the table when I stumbled in.

Daiken was the one to freak out first. "You're all bloody!" He cried, standing up so quick he sent his chair to the floor. "What's happened?" He started coming over to my side, but I raised my hands defensively.

"I'm fine, Daiken. There was just another dead guy in the pool today; I had to drag his bloody body out of the water. I managed to get some on me even." Daiken calmed immediately and I placed my bat by the door again.

Mistress continued to set the table after staring at me in shock. "How terrible," she whispered. "When will this idiotic war end?"

Daiken picked his chair back up and sat in it. He was staring at me, studying the blood on my rags. "It doesn't look like human blood," he whispered, eyeing me with suspicion. I sucked in a breath, giving him an innocent look.

"He had obviously been there for a while; probably since last night. The blood was no longer rich and ripe. He had been dead long before."

Daiken accepted this explanation and I slipped back into my room to change. Once I was in my nightgown, a light blue soft material, I quickly ate dinner and washed my bowl before either Mistress or Daiken were done.

"You're in such a hurry, Alys. What is it?" Mistress asked, slurping some broth quietly. I didn't know why I was so fidgety, so I came up with the best assumption I had

"I've been hungry all day." I stopped, thinking how the dragon must have been hungry also, but still refused my help. I looked over my shoulder to gaze at Mistress. "Do you think tomorrow that I'll be able to take a couple of snacks to go swimming?"

Mistress smiled at me. "Of course; what would you like?"

"How about some venison...? I mean, that will be good all day." Mistress laughed.

"Okay, that will be fine." Surely the dragon would like meat. I smiled at the thought.

Then I began to realize how lucky I was to be home right then, to be alive. The dragon could have eaten me and I would have been gone. Daiken and the Mistress would have spent years and years looking for me, and I would have been in the black dragons tummy the whole time.

Maybe he let me live because he saw that I didn't have much to eat, I was very thin, and hardly had meat on my bones. Maybe he knew that it wouldn't be worth it.

Suddenly, even if I had slept half the day away on the dragons muzzle, I was so tired. I yawned and bade goodnight to both of the grown-ups. I curled under my covers in my bed, and fell sleep immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: I'm sooooo sorry it took me forever to post this. I just really don't want to write this part of the story, but I have to. :/ I've gotten chapters 6 and 7 done, but we can't skip around like that, can we? Besides, I have some major writing block at the moment, and also, I have freaking school again. D: I'm upset because of that! Learning spanish is so hard for me!!!**

**Oh, and I want to thank these people for reviewing:  
kingdomfantasyanime453  
shurfine  
and Dusk2DawnIwrite.  
Thanks alot guys! You really motivated me.****  
**

**Well, sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter two, probably one of the most important chapters in the whole story.**

_Chapter Two_

I woke around noon the next day, which scared me.

I dressed quickly in new rags and a dress to go over. I ran out to the kitchen, Daiken and the Mistress sitting at the table and talking.

"W-why didn't you guys wake me up?" I wondered, brushing my bangs out of my eyes. Daiken smiled.

"You were sleeping so peacfully; it's time you got to sleep in." I sat at the table too, looking at both of them carefully. They continued talking to eachother; something about how the Hinish Village was planning on joining the war too.

The war wasn't something that anyone liked to talk about. It was among the western parts and the eastern parts of the lands, and now, it sounded like the northern and southern parts were joining in as well. I was certain our village, St. Careloon, wasn't going to get caught up in it, besides the shock waves like prices going up and imports becoming scarce.

"Mistress?" I broke through their conversation. They both looked at me curiously. "Have you collected the venison for me?"

"Oh, yes, it's by the door. Are you seriously going swimming _again_?"

"Yes, I need to clean the rocks of blood. I didn't get around to doing that yesterday."

"Well, okay, but you be safe, you hear?" I knew when Mistress was being sort of rough, it ment that she was really and truely worried. I had no idea why she would be, but I had a feeling that it wasn't wasted.

I opened our door, the sun-light peering past me, lighting up my face while a rush of wind fluttered into the room. I bit my bottom lip, stopping halfway out the door.

"Mistress... Daiken...?" I hesitated a moment before turning around to gaze at them. Daiken was at the sink while Mistress was wiping down the table.

Mistress turned her big brown eyes on me. "What is it?"

"Um, have you heard about the black dragon that was wounded not too far from here?"

"No." Daiken was suddenly interested, turned completly around to stare at me. "What about it?" He asked with a hint of caution.

I swallowed back my sudden fear, and smiled. "Oh, the Pastor was telling me about it. I was just curious to see if you had heard."

"Well, alright." Daiken smiled lightly. "Please be careful today, Alys." The warning was real, and I was suddenly worried if he somehow knew that I was... no, he couldn't have.

"Right!"

"Don't worry about the dragon Alys." Mistress smiled a little at me. "He'll shudder soon, if what the pastor says is true."

I stopped, and turned to look at her. "Shudder?" I had heard the word before, but it had never caught my attention in the past.

"Aye, when a dragon dies, it goes through a shudder." Mistress paused, then walked over to me. She lightly patted my head. "You better get going, Alys. You're letting in dust."

With that, I apologized, grabbed my bat, and closed the door lightly.

Managing to trip over a rock when I came upon the clearing, I somehow noticed the dragon was asleep. His body rose and fell evenly, light breaths coming from his nose. I decided I should probably let him sleep; he was still recovering most likely.

As quietly as I could, I set the satchel of venison on a rock, and then stripped of my clothes down to my rags. I glanced over my shoulder at the dragon, to see if even the slightest ruffle woke him up.

He hadn't even moved a centimeter, but I still didn't want to wake him up unnessiccarily. Remembering the tree that fallen down across the river not to far from the swimming hole, I realized that it would make a very good bridge. I quietly looked for it, hoping that it was still there.

Once I smacked away a branch from my face, I saw that the tree was still there, to my relief. The bottom that was near the water was covered in moss while the top was damp from the little droplets of water that splashed from the swift river. I crossed it quickly, but not without almost dropping the satchel of dragons'-breakfast in the water.

Now on the other side of the river, I returned to the clearing. He still hadn't moved, even as I stumbled through a bush, making a loud noise.

_He must be very tired,_ I thought, standing straight. _He's probably still recovering._ I wanted to see how the gash was, but it looked like his wing was securily pushed against his side. Becoming more and more curious, I walked to his side casually.

The next thing I knew was he was moving, and very fast. I couldn't comprehend the movement he had made, but suddenly, I was stareing into his mouth. His warm breath swindled around me, making the cold morning air seem like it never exsisted. Salivia dripped from his teeth, which I hand't noticed how sharp they were. Probably because I'd never seen them before. His tounge was thin and long. There was a hint of blood and meat on his breath, and it made me slightly nauseated.

_He's about to eat me,_ I suddenly realized. I clamped my eyes shut as my heart thudded twice the speed it normal went. But my doom wasn't as close as I had thought, and I opened my eyes slowly. His mouth was still wide open, but he wasn't going to bite my head off it seemed.

A deep noise came from the back of his throat. A growl, a warning.

I startled both of us by laughing. "Gee, Mr. Dragon, you have zero tolerance this morning," I giggled, then calmly un-wrapped the venison. "I brought you something to eat--as a snack," I added, seeing the amount of meat wasn't that much for a dragon his size.

Pulling his head back, he closed his mouth, and I could see his intense, golden eyes gazing at me. There was confusion dancing in them, and I was sure that's what mine reflected as well. I shrugged, then placed the opened-satchel at the end of his nose.

He glanced at me again before staring at the meat. I was scared when he suddenly hit me with his nose, pushing me away from him. After stumbling back a few feet, I regained my composure and saw that he was scarfing down the meat. All it took was one swallow, but he made such a big deal out of it.

I felt my face fall into a glare. "And zero politeness too!" I scolded, putting my hands on my hips. He turned to return my glare with his own, breathtaking, utterly amazing, glare. "I think there is a pattern going on here." I walked past him and waded into the water. Once it was up to my stomach, I turned around to gaze at him.

He was still staring at me with that confused look in his eyes, like he couldn't believe that I hadn't ran away screaming from his barbaric-additude. I had to look away from his eyes so I could compose my words. "I'm just trying to help you; you should be nicer."

The dragon snorted lowly, like he was saying 'whatever.' Anger now rising within my body, I jerked my head up to yell at him. "I saved your life and brought you food; you owe me, okay!?"

Calmly, the dragon rested his head on the ground, closing his eyes. So, he was deciding to ignore me now! I growled in annoyance and stomped up back to the shore. Dripping wet, I stood in front of his muzzle, my arms folded tightly.

"I'm tired of this!" I yelled at him. "Zero polietness, zero tolerance, zero patients... you're just a zero in _everything_!" I felt the pent-up annoyance come feely now, and I wasn't about to stop. "How about zero hygene too?" I plugged my nose with my fore-finger and my thumb. "That wound of yours isn't so great smelling, you know."

The dragon seemed to sigh, but gave no more of a response.

Which was not giving me satisfacation; giving me the idea that I was winning this battle;which just made me angrier.

"Zero, zero, zero, zero!" I screamed loudly, suddenly aware of just how angry I was. I didn't realize that I was actually sounding a little crazy also. Why was I suddenly so worried about how this dragon took to me?

The dragon and I went silent after the echos of my screams died out. The only sounds were the flowing waters of the river, the rustling leaves that were tousled out of place by the light breeze, and the birds that were annoucing the morning sun.

Begining to feel so out of place by being loud, I started to feel awful about yelling at the poor creature. I ran through my screams in my head to see if I wanted to take any of it back. _Let's see_, I thought gingerly. _I said he was a zero in everything. That's kind of mea--_

Sudden realization hit me, and a small smile spred on my lips.

I laughed quietly, which made the dragon open his eyes in curiousity. He scrutinized me, as if he were trying to figure out if I was going to explode again or not.

"Zero!" I giggled again, suddenly becoming giddy. "That's what I'll name you, Mr. Dragon!" Suddenly, the dragons' form became very ridgid, like he had stopped breathing.

Good. So this was something that he didn't like, and obviously couldn't ignore. It made the idea even more appealing. "Alrighty, then, Zero!" I announced. "Let's get you up and running again!"

The dragon, now known as Zero, still sat very quietly, stareing emotionlessy at me as I draped the empty satchel in the water as a rag.

"Let's take a look at that wound now." I walked eaisily up to him, ignoring how he slightly flinched as I approached. I stood a few feet away, and waited for him to lift his wing

After a minute, he still hadn't lifted his wing, and I gazed over at him. He was staring back at me, still an non-emotion state glazing over his eyes.

"Well?" I gestured towards his wing. "Are you going to let me look or not?"

A deep rumble errupted from his throat, and he bared his long, sharp teeth at me. His sharp gold eyes narrowed, and anger flashed through them.

I tilted my head innocently, not allowing the sudden fear that came over me to show on my face. "What?" I asked. "Why are you being so mean?" He reacted in no way, but continued his deadly glare and low growls.

I sighed, then shrugged. "Well, your loss." Holding my calm stare, I walked up to the beasts side and took hold of the side of the wing. Starting to tug on it, I manged to spit out a "I'll just do it myself."

The next thing I knew was a sharp tug on my sleeve, and I was suddenly on the ground, splashing in the shallow end of the water hole. And my arm hurt.

Quickly sitting up, water dripping down my back, I looked down, and, since my sleeve was now missing, I saw a small gash that ran from my elbow to my wrist on the outside of my left arm. It wasn't bleeding that bad, but it stung a lot.

Clamping my hand over it, I turned my glare on the dragon, who still had his eyes narrowed at me.

"You jerk!" I yelled, standing up. "You bit me!" The wound wasn't bleeding that bad, but I was still surprised that he had even took a snap at me.

I was sort of mad. Okay, that was an understatement. I was furious!

"All I'm trying to do is help!" I screamed at the dragon. "Yet, you still act like you're the king of the world, and that just makes me even more mad!

"You're too cocky, too arrogant, and... and..." I couldn't think of anything else nasty to say. "You're just mean!" I splashed to the other side angerily. "Fine! I won't help you anymore, you stupid, dumb dragon!" With that said, I turned and stomped through the trees, even more angry that he wasn't even going to try and stop me.

It was still only mid-day, I realized, as I walked through the dense woods. I pushed the leaves away from my path, finding my eyes welling up with angry tears. He was so mean to just treat me like I was some common person for a meal. I stopped to rest on a rock, under the shade of a nearby ever-green tree, and realized that I _was_ a common person for meal, in reality. I was the best kind; the kind that was eaisily tricked. Well, I might of been eailiy out-witted, but it wasn't like I was stupid! I sighed, somehow exaughsted already, even if the day was only half way gone.

I brought my knees to my chest, resting the soles of my feet against the cool, smooth rock surface. I wrapped my arms around my knees, and rested my chin on my arms.

Why was Zero so mean? Was it just a dragons' nature to be a cruel beast? I thought more and more questions, never able to find even one answer except for one; he didn't like the name I gave him. As far as I was concerned, he didn't and wouldn't like _anything_ I gave him! I bet he even disliked the meat I had gaven him! _What a waste,_ I though saddly. _That venison would have been nice as some lunch..._

The trees rustled suddenly, but I didn't give it much thought. _Probably a squirell_, I thought to myself, then wondered if the dragon could have gotten himself his own meal. I sighed again, laying my head sideways, and gently closing my eyes, listening to the trees rustle slightly again.

My eyes jerked open when I hear a shrill hit the back of my head, while simutaniously digging into my side. I screamed in surprised pain, and found myself face first in the dirt. I wasn't sure what had happened; maybe Zero had came to eat me after all.

A warm fluid was plastered on my side, and with the sudden smell reaching my nose, I knew it had to be blood. Panicked, I tried to sit up, to cover the wound, but something was bounding me to the forest floor by my shoulder-blades.

Choaking on sudden sobs, I tried to wriggle free of whatever my captor may be, but to no avail. I screamed loudly as I felt a sudden gash being created in my back; I could practically hear the skin ripping and the blood flowing. Tears were falling endlessly now, screams of terror, pain, regret, and everything else I could comprehend at the moment stealing away my breath. Another slash was made, and I could almost feel the life being ripped out of me in small jerks.

My back was on fire, I couldn't breath right. Only somewhere in the back of my head I knew that I was being attacked by a big cat. Why me? Normally, animals wouldn't come near me. I was barely aware of another part of my body that was stinging.

My arm! Of course! It was bleeding, and the cat must of thought of it as a invitation for a meal!

Damn that Zero! He was going to get me killed!

I felt the warmth on my shoulder before I felt the sharp stab of it's fangs driving into my shoulder.

I screamed again, using the last of my strength to try and kick off the mountain lion.

It did little, but enough so I could at least sit up and press my gashed back against the rock. I could feel the warm trickle of blood down my spine, and seep down towards my bottom. My breathing was rough, ragged, and my face was tear-streaked.

The mountain lion was beautiful, but deadly. It's dark eyes flashed with a predatory gleam, and it's golden fur was spotted with, what I knew, was my own blood. It's body was long, and lean, definatly in need for another meal.

But I didn't want the meal to be me.

It crouched once more, readying to pounce on me and deliever the finishing blow.

_I'm sorry,_ I thought, closing my eyes lightly, bracing myself for the impact. _I'm so sorry, Zero._

I heard the crunch of twigs, and when I snapped my eyes open, ready for the last sight of my life, the cat had straightened out of it's crouch, and was staring off into the trees. It's tail was gradually getting puffier, and a menacing snarl was building up in it's throat.

Great. _Now_ what was coming?

The silence, besides my ragged intake of air and the cats occaisonal snarl, was maddening. It seemed to drag on longer, and longer, until, finally, I thought that I had lost so much blood that I couldn't hold my eyes open anymore. I could see it puddling around me, now, a dark black color against the dirt and twigs.

I heard the trees breaking before I saw them falling, crashing, to the earth, sending dirt flying everywhere. I quickly covered my eyes with my good arm, choaking on the dust that rose in the air. I peeked around my arm, and peered through the dust. A black figure stood before me, blocking the golden creature. Tilting my head back so fast it hurt to look at the figure towering over me, and felt hope grip my heart.

"Zero!" I squeeked out of pleasure and surprise.

The black dragon was _huge!_ I hadn't noticed since he was always curled into a ball. He had his wings outstretched the full length, the tendons sticking out through-out the leathery looking skin. His scales shone brightly in the dim, shadowed light, and I noticed his tail was curled around the rock that I had leaned against. His shin was only about to my face level, so he truely _was _huge. His head was so far up, it hurt my neck to tilt back and look at him.

But I didn't have to look up at him; he had suddenly brought his head down, and with the loud crunch of the lions breaking bones, he quickly chomped the cat, letting the blood squirt and drip between his jaws. The blood poured down into puddles on the ground, making a sickly noise that would have churned my stomach if I wasn't on the verge of death myself.

I let my right arm drap over my torso, and clutch onto my left side, to hold onto my wound. Closing my eyes, I let my head fall back against the rock.

"Hey, Zero?" I could still hear him crunching the bones in his jaw, stop slightly, then continue. "Thanks," I whispered, smiling, then let the darkness cloud over my mind.

**Sorry, I know it's a bad spot to stop. But the next chapter is going to be one of my favorites to write!! :D**

**Yes, his official name through-out this story WILL be Zero, but the name Selendrile will also show up for him. I promise.**

**Fave and review with lots of love!! :D**

**~ 3 Em**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Authors Note:_ Hey guys! Due to how quickly my last chapter was reviewed, I decided to update a _little _faster this time! But _please_ understand that I have school, homework, friends, family, and other things to do. I have big tests coming up, so, I'll try to update a.s.a.p. But I think of you, I really, really do! And by the way, I got 97% on my big Spanish test last week! Soooo happy!! Also, this past week, I've had to re-read 'Dragon's Bait' like, five times just to get the characters the way I want them. :/ **

**Thanks for reviewing:  
kingdomfantasyanime453  
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**Getting feedback _really_ effects how quickly these chapters come. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably would have given up on this story a _long_ time ago!! 3 Thanks again!****  
**

_Chapter Three_

My eyes fluttered open as soon as I was conscience enough to tell which way was up. For a moment, I just lied there on my back, and looked at the dark blue sky, littered with stars, and swaying tree tops lipping my vision of the clear sky. Closing my eyes, I wondered if I _had_ indeed died. I would've thought that heaven was brighter than this dark haven.

Slowly, _all _of my senses came into the picture, feeling the crinkly material under my fingertips, the smell of a fire, the sound of water gurgling over small pebbles, and the taste of a faint metallic taste, almost like blood, plagued my mouth.

I also felt the pain pin-pricking in my shoulder and torso, reminding me of my encounter with death.

I opened my eyes again, realizing the pain was more pronounced than I would have first thought. "Ow," I whispered,moving my hand away from my side and up to my left shoulder. I glanced around, recalling that these trees were indeed the ones that surrounded my small pond, and the bubbling of the water was vaguely familiar. It was night, so all I could see was shadows.

But dancing on those shadows was a warm light that was projected from somewhere off to my left. I let my head loll to that side, and I focused on the bright, orange flame flickering and cracking in the air. Beside it was a man, who looked about 19, way older than I was.

He wasn't facing me; I could only see half of his face. He had a perfect nose, and his lips were darkened by the flickering flame. His body was arched slightly, his elbows resting on his knees, which jutted out farther than any other mans legs I had seen. I let my eyes scan his legs, starting at his seat on the rock that he was resting on to the bare heel that dug into the dirt. He had his eyes on the fire, and it made his eyes seem almost golden. His hair was dark black, black as the charcoal left from a dieing fire, but it was also slightly lightened by the fires light. The tips around his face stopped just below his breath-taking eyes, while the hair at the back of his head reach the the middle of his neck and gradually grew spikier as it went up the back of his head. His skin looked dark, tanned from the sun. He almost looked like a prince, like the ones in the fairy tales Daiken would tell me.

But his clothes spoke differently. The boy wore farmers breeches, stopping at his knee. He had on a dirty and torn tunic, tied at the waist with a frayed rope, knotted lazily at an angle. As mentioned before, he wore no shoes, not even the leather kind that even _I _had owned. His hands, gathered together between his knees, were gloved, but the gloves had finger holes so his fingers could wriggle freely.

Who _was_ he? Where had he come from? And anyway, where had Zero gone?

Zero _was _able to come and save me from the mountain lion, so maybe he was well enough to leave. So maybe this man had just been walking through the forest and found me dieing...but, then again, why would Zero just leave me half dead? I knew that I didn't have much meat on me, but I was still food.

I pushed away the thought of Zero eating me; I had come to a conclusion that, even if he bit at me, he didn't want to kill me.

I tried to think up something to say to the young man as I stared at him, but nothing came to mind. A 'hello' seemed too simple, but a 'who are you' seemed too innapropiate, since he probably _did_ save my life.

Almost as if on cue, he suddenly turned and looked at me.

I gasped at the intensity of his stare, and I realized that it _wasn't_ just the fire that had made his eyes look golden; they were literally _golden_. Dark eyelashes brimmed the narrowed eyes, contrasting all the hues within the iris. His face was narrow, thin, but somewhat sturdy for a boy his age. His lips were less full looking now that he was facing me, but they still arched angelically.

It only took me a moment to study him, but apparently a moment was too much for him.

"Stop staring at me," he murmured, his mouth in a straight line. His voice was dark and deep. Everything about him screamed 'danger' at me, but for some odd reason, I wasn't afraid.

I decided being impolite wasn't going to be a problem. "Who are you?" I asked, quickly looking away from him just to appease him. From the corner of my eye, I noticed he slightly shook his head, and looked back at the fire.

"My name Selendrile," he said, staring into the flame.

_Selendrile?_ What a strange name for such a handsome man.

It was only until he looked back at me that I realized that I had began to stare at him again. Scared that he was going to be upset again, I looked quickly away.

"But," he continued in the same tone, "you know me by Zero."

I slightly jumped at the name. Shocked, I stared at the boy, trying to use my eyes to pry into his head.

"What?" I asked in a tone that let me know that I was _indeed_ being rude.

He only smiled lightly at me, and even if it was small, it made my heart skip a beat. "Well, you _were_ brave enough to name me, Alys."

I sat up at fast as I could. "How do you know my name!" I screamed, then, after riding a wave of vertigo, fell back down on my back. The pain in my back, which was just barely subsiding, had re-awakened.

"Don't move so fast." He was so calm as he stood up and walked over to me, seeing in the light of the fire that his toes curled around the rocks. "You've reopened your wound again, silly little girl."

I stared at him in disbelief and shook my head. "Who _are _you!?" I squeaked as he knelt beside me.

He shook his head in mockery."I've told you already; Zero."

"Zero was a dragon," I argued back, although I noticed, as he got closer, that it was impossible for me _not_ to notice how _un_human he looked.

He took a hold of my shoulder and rolled me over onto my side, so my cheek was pressed against the crinkly material, which smelt like a animal pelt. "Zero is a mythical creature. Zero can change into anything he wants with a little magic," the boy, who called himself Zero, replied smugly.

"I don't believe you," I added firmly.

"Dragon's _do_ lie all the time." I felt his warm hand brush against my side, and I glanced down. I was wrapped up in bandages, like my swimming ones, except these were covered in dried blood. I looked away, death not able to fight off my queasiness for blood this time.

"You can't be Zero," I murmured, watching the water flow through my pond. "Zero hated that name."

"I didn't hate it," he mused, unwinding the bandages from around my torso, lifting me up as necessary when the material wrapped under me. "It was simply inconvenient."

"Why'd you bite me then?" I snapped, exaggerating the 'bite'. He didn't answer, and didn't answer. I finally looked at him, and it didn't look like he _was_ going to answer. Stubborn; yes, he _was _Zero, I decided. I sighed, looked away, then asked another. "How'd you know my name was Alys?"

"Easy; Jasslee and Daiken call you it."

It took me moment to let that sink in. "How do you know _their_ names?"

"Also easy; I followed you home last night."

With one snap of my head, I was looking straight into his eyes. "_Why_?"I squeaked in shock.

He shrugged, totally at ease. "You said that I could follow you home if I wanted."

"But you laughed at me when I offered!"

"I did," he admitted with a grin, as if remembering. "But, after a hour or so, I took you up on your offer, and went to your village."

We both fell silent after that, the only noises were the rushing water and the crackling fire. He stood up and went to the fire to pick up some bandages that he conveniently had ready.

"They know, I hope you know," he said as he sat back down, placing the end of the bandage on my stomach.

"Will you laugh if I say no?" I asked focusing on the trees across the pond.

He didn't reply to my question with a direct 'yes' or 'no'. "They know you've been going to see me, a dragon."

I felt my body tense at his words, but I couldn't believe him. How could they have figured it out?

"How?" I asked, totally at ease.

"The pastor told them that I had taken refuge in the nearby woods, to bleed myself out before I shuddered, and--"

"What's a shudder?" I interrupted, more interested in this story than the other.

"--when you came home with blood all over you," he continued as if I hadn't even spoken, " they knew that you had ran into me and even took care of me since you weren't dead."

I decided to let him get this out. "Well, then why did they let me leave today?"

He finished wrapping my torso with bandages and rolled me back over gently. "They thought for sure that I would have left by morning."

I tilted my head. "Why didn't you?"

Zero shrugged. "I guess I wanted to see if you'd really come back."

"And I did." I smiled at him.

He smiled back. "You did," he murmured with a tone I didn't recognize. It was a strange tone, and it made my stomach tighten.

"So," I mused uncomfortably, trying to change the subject," what's a shudder?"

Zero, smiling, looked back at the fire, but didn't say anything. "Are you not going to tell me?" I asked, leaning forward to get a better look of his face.

"No," he replied, still smiling. "I don't want you to worry about that right now."

"Sooo," I dragged out," you _will_ tell me?"

He sighed, shaking his head, still smiling. "Yes. Someday, but not today."

I wanted to ask why, but for some reason, I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I also sighed, and looked at the sky.

"They're going to be worried," I said, realizing that Daiken and the Mistress had no idea where I was at the moment. "They probably think that you ate me or something."

"Most likely," he agreed with ease. "We don't need to worry about that, either. I've got a plan."

"A plan?" I turned my head to look at him. "A plan like what?"

He glanced at me, then back at the fire. "I'll take you home and say that I found you being attacked by a mountain lion. Once I frightened it away, I was so afraid that you were too hurt to move, so I took care of you until I knew you were absolutely okay to move."

I stared at him until he looked at me again. I made a swishing movement with my hand. "What, that's it?"

"We can think up of smaller details when the time comes,"he added, keeping his face straight. "It would be bad if they figured out I can change."

"Why's that?"

He was suddenly taken aback, like he was shocked I had asked such a question. He uncomfortably looked away, into the dark murkiness of the trees.

He hesitated, then let his words spill out all too quickly for me to even understand.

"_What_?"I asked. "You talk too fast; I can't understand you."

He slowly looked at me, no emotion on his face now. "Then you don't need to know."

"Excuse me, but I believe I do!" I replied back in a snide tone.

His eyes flashed at me, making me freeze. "Don't be sneer with me, girl," he warned in a dark voice. "Must I remind you that I _did_ save your life."

I knew that he was right, but I didn't want to admit it.

"Well, I didn't _ask_ to be saved, now did I?"

Zero temporarily became even angrier, then his face went blank. "But," he murmured,"you did."

Not sure if I was telling the truth or if he was, I played back the mountain lion scene in my head--the parts I could remember, at least.

"I did not," I declared finally. "You're just trying to embarrass me."

"Crying, asking; there just not that much of a difference to dragons." He smirked when my hand immediately went to my eye as if to wipe a tear away.

"Stop it," I demanded childishly. "Don't say things like that; it makes me scared."

His eyebrows arched upwards. "Scared?" He smiled larger. "Scared of what? Me?"

Yes. Of course of him, but I couldn't let him know that.

"N-no!" I said over loudly. "You just make me sound so fragile."

He sighed lowly and stood up in one fluid motion. Obviously, dragons had the ability to be graceful, despite how unholy they were.

"But you _are_fragile, Alys," he mused in a tone that made her think he was treating her like a child. "That small, feisty cat almost ripped you to shreds without much of a fight."

"It's not my fault I'm soft-skinned!" I argued back with a small pout. "I'm not born with an armor of scales and talons."

Laughing, he walked to the fire and stared into the flames, his eyes shining brightly with the light. "Would you believe me if I said that dragon's aren't either?"

My stomach clenched as I tried to keep my anger in tact, but curiosity got the best of me. "You weren't?" I asked, trying to set a hard foundation for my calm words.

Zero only shook his head this time, the black tips of his hair swaying gently with every movement he made.

"So," I continued, "you're born bald like humans?"

A deep chuckle erupted from somewhere in his chest. "No, not like humans," he explained. "There _are_ scales and talons; but they're soft and flimsy, just like human skin."

I thought about that for a minute, a smile slowly breaking out on my face. "I want to see one," I declared, looking up through the trees at the stars. "I bet they're adorable."

He didn't say anything for a minute. "You probably won't be able to," he finally said in a whisper. "They don't leave the nest until they're older."

"Oh." I felt a wave of disappointment flood over me. "That's too bad."

"Hm." He turned towards me again, staring down at me. "We should get you home."

"Right." I tried to sit up, but found it difficult and rather painful. Not wanting to ask for help, I tried again, grunting in effort.

He chuckled lightly at my struggle before kneeling before me and picking me up into his arms. His body was warm, too warm to be human body temperature, and his hands were spread out along the small of my back and around the curve of my knee.

"Stop," I demanded, blushing. "I can walk myself!"

"Maybe so," he allowed, "but my way is faster."

He muscles tensed through-out his arms and chest through his shirt, and his eyes darkened. Sudden terror overthrew my body, making me whimper and throw my arms around his neck. "What are you doing?" I asked, the fear lacing my words.

He might have replied, but I wasn't sure. The sound of ripping fabric echoed in my ears. A small grunt came from his lips. Then, there was the sound of stretching leather, the sound of muscles quivering.

Then, there was wind, the forest suddenly below us, and the moon light over-casting us. I screamed, realizing we were high up in the sky, over the forest and my village about a mile away.

"How-I-What-" I couldn't find my words, and they were being ripped away by the wind fluttering around my face.

"Look behind." Was all he said, and almost instantly, I looked.

I gasped, bringing my arms back around from his neck, holding them to my stomach to stop the fear.

Huge, black wings were spread behind him, stretching against the wind. The tendons were pronounced by the moons light. Where did they come from? Curiously, I scrambled more upright in his arms, looking over his shoulder. I was surprised to see that the back of his shirt was ripped, frayed. The wings were attacked to the skin that showed through the rips, lots of tendons and veins sticking out around the base where the skin and leathery skin met. They twitched as the wings flapped again, rousing a whirlwind of air around me, tousling my hair.

Nausea suddenly swept over me, and I quickly nestled back against his chest. I looked up at him, expecting an explanation. But my wonder was dissolved when I realized how much darker his face had gotten; a look of struggle played with his facial structures, the rims under his eyes black with anger, and his eyes were a more brilliant gold than ever. His dark brows were pulled together, and his lips were pulled down into a slight frown.

The more I looked at him, the more I realized how unhuman he was.

We didn't say anything as he hovered down to the ground, a short distance away from the village.

"What if someone saw you?" I whispered once we were on the ground, aware of the problems that would arise if someone had.

Emotionless, he replied. "No one did."

He was so sure of himself that I felt like I could believe him as well. "Okay, if you say so."

He flashed a look at me, already gone by the time I tried to find out what it ment.

"I _know_ so," he said darkly. "Don't doubt that."

I nodded. "Right."

He looked up at the sky for a brief moment, sitting me more upright in his arms, then started walking into the sleeping village.

**Here's were I'll end this chapter. Sorry.**

**So, yeah, technically, his name _is Selendrile_, but he'll be referred to as Zero for most of the story. I had to slip the name somewhere!  
I also tried to put a little humor in this chapter. :/ I don't think it really worked, but, whatever.**

Well, thanks for taking time to read this, and give me some feedback. Even some ideas would be nice, but I've practically got the first 5 chapters planned out tightly (except the next chapter. So, if you want a part to be in there, just say so, and I'll see if it can be squeezed in!)


	4. Chapter 4

_**I know. You can hate me right about now; this took so long to update. School has be so hectic, I'm freaking out over a personal problem, and I've been playing Assassin's Creed 2 latly (which is an AMAZING game.) You can yell at me, I deserve it! X(  
ANYWAYS: This is the last Chapter with Alys as a youngster! She'll be older in the chapters-to-come! This one took a lot out of me, so I'm sorry if it really, really sucks!  
Oh! And Thanks to these people for reviewing:  
****AiDeeKay  
Rain  
shurfine  
kingdomfantasyanime543**  
**It really means alot to me everyone! :)  


* * *

**_

_**Chapter Four**_

The door hinges squeaked loudly as Zero pushed the door open. With his wings now gone (to who _knows _where), his face had loosened up a bit, and he didn't look so monstrous.

I was surprised to find out that he didn't even have to look around to know where the guest bed was; besides the arch the led from the kitchen into the pantry. As he was sitting me down on it, a light shined from around the halls corner. Lifting the covers around me, we both watched as a candle appeared from behind the wall, a rough hand holding it. Slowly, Daiken appeared from the hall, and stood there,guiding the light to where Zero and I sat. He looked tired, like he needed sleep. His light graying-brown hair was messed up, and his sleeping gown trailed around his ankles.

"Who's there?" He whispered. "Alys? Is that you?" He focused on Zero for a moment before letting his eyes land on me.

"It's me, Daiken, " I whispered back, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm just a little hurt, that's all."

"What's happened?" I had always admired Daiken for how calm he always was. And even then, he was surprisingly calm and hadn't even asked where Zero came from.

Before I could speak, Zero stood from the bed side. "She was attacked by a mountain lion," he replied, making Daiken look at him. And before even Daiken could ask, Zero replied "My name is Zero; I was walking through the forest to get an herb for my grandmother who's terribly ill. I came upon the creature attacking Alys, and scared it off with the torch I had with me."

I nodded when Daiken looked at me, assuring him that this man was okay. "It was getting late," Zero continued in an firm voice, "so I decided to make sure she was able to move herself rather than injure her more by opening her wounds farther."

"Is she okay?" Daiken asked again, gazing at me. "Are you absolutely _sure _it was the lion?" And with that, I realized that Zero had been right in the fact that Mistress and Daiken knew about the dragon part. I shyly looked away from his gaze, burying my face into the blankets.

"Of course," Zero added. "I used some of the herbs that I had already collected to make sure the infection didn't get any worse." I also realized that Zero knew _a lot _about the human body for a dragon, and was also a good liar. I wondered if he ever had been obliged to turn into a human before. "I personally saw the lion attacking her and rid of it." I recalled the sound of the lions bones crunching in the dragons jaws and the blood splattering on the ground, and a small shudder shook my body.

"Well, then, thank you, Zero, for taking care of her." Daiken had turned his attention back to Zero, and smiled at him. Zero smiled back lightly, nodding.

I was in wonder how Daiken didn't notice how different he looked--how not human he was. Maybe I only noticed because I had the dragon-form to compare to. The color of the shimmering scales was indeed the same shade of darkness the mans hair color was. And the golden eyes were the same on both creatures.

Daiken looked back at me. "Are you sure you're okay, Alys?" He whispered gently.

I nodded, smiling. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks to Zero."

He sighed, relieved. "I'll go wake Jasalee and tell her you made it home; the Lord knows how much she's worried about you tonight."

I looked down, ashamed. "Sorry," I whispered.

"You're safe, that's all that matters." Daiken smiled once more, before turning around and walking down the hall again. The light disappeared with him.

Zero left the bed side, and walked around the small room, gazing at everything.

I cleared my throat lightly to catch his attention. He looked up from the wooden spoon he had picked up. His gold eyes glowed even in absence of light. I shook my head slightly and groped my mind for my question.

"How long was I just laying there for?"

Zero shrugged, turning his attention to a string of garlic hanging off a nail in the wall. "It's almost sun-rise right now, so maybe only 16 hours."

"_ONLY_ 16 hours!?" I coughed lightly after the high squeak. "I don't know how your day runs, but that's a _long_ time!"

Zero rolled his eyes and sat with his back against the cot, already bored with the room. "It's not even a whole day," he muttered. "Don't make such a big deal about it." He sighed before I could protest, and leaned his head back on the mattress. "You're troublesome, I hope you know that."

I also sighed, realizing that, even if I was out for "only" 16 hours, I was exaughsted. "Well, it's not like I asked you to take care of me." I closed my eyes, feeling their sudden weight.

He snorted once, telling me that I apparently had. "That brings us back to the whole crying-asking thing."

"There _is _a difference, I hope you know," I mumbled, on the cusp of sleep.

Zero neither laughed, nor grunted. He simply stated "If _you_ say so."

I couldn't fight back the sleepy smile that pulled my lips upwards. "I _know_ so." I giggled lightly. "Don't doubt that."

I could feel his glare on me and I slowly drifted towards my unconscious state-of-mind.

****

Every morning the past three days continued to amaze; for the fact that the dark haired man was _always _there. I was sure Jasalee, who had a safe grudge against him, despite his heroism of saving me and his good looks, would have surely kicked him out to stay in the Inn. But,no, he slept in the common room by the fire each night, spread out under a thick blanket. I had a view of him through the door that was always opened, just in case I needed something. When I found it hard to sleep at night due to the uncomfortable pains in my side, I would just watch his sleeping face; so gentle, and yet so alert.

Daiken would stay home from his job of fixing roofs and any other mishaps in the village to make sure I stayed in bed. No matter how many times I objected, saying that I was perfectly capable of walking around, Daiken refused, and pushed me back down onto the cot. Jasalee didn't like me lazing around; she commented that there was work to be done, so she argued on my side about the whole 'staying in bed all day' thing. Zero, of course, didn't care, but he _would_ go into the village to get me milk and cheese to eat.

And on that note, Zero practically became the new Alys; he ran all the errands around the house, took presents to neighbors, and even went to mass with Daiken and Jasalee (while I stayed home). I voiced my worry about the whole church-going thing to Zero before he left the first day, saying that someone was bound to notice he wasn't human. And also that it was unholy for a fey creature to enter the holy house.

His response: "Nonsense.I'm looking more human if I go to church, right?"

The neighbors all loved him; apparently, he was a gentleman. I was actually quite upset that he would act for them and not me. I was tired of dealing with the rude Zero. Also, it seemed like the tin-smiths daughter, Marion, had taken a liking for him, and I didn't like that at all. She was the marriageable age, all ready and fertile for children.

"So," I started the second night after Zero was done helping me eat dinner. "Daiken was commenting on how the girl next door was eyeing you recently."

His expression didn't change in even the slightess; he continued to stoke the fire in the other room. He didn't answer until he put the poker aside and returned to the door-way. He leaned against the frame, raising an eye-brow at me. "And?"

I suddenly realized that I was being foolish because Zero probably would never wed a human anyways. I innocently shrugged. " I was just trying to tease you about it."

"There is no use in trying to tease someone about something if they don't really give a damn in either way."

I ignored his crude way of pointing out my fault. "If you really had to, would you?"

He tilted his head. "Would I what?"

I tried to find the right words, blushing at how strange it was for me to think of such things! It was taboo! It was most likely a good thing that Jasalee and Daiken were out to visit the pastor.

"Um, you know, if you had to be with a human woman?"

Zero pulled his lips into a pout, a thinking stance he pulled off to be adequate for his age and build. "I suppose so," he finally offered, and my face lit anew. For what reason, I did not know. Before I could ponder too much on his words and my reaction, he pulled his face straight and he walked back into the common room. "It would have to be a dire situation, though. Humans are such bothers."

I sighed, already used to him ranting about how awful humans were. "Dragon's aren't as cracked up as they are said to be," I argued back, staring up at the ceiling.

"No, we aren't." I heard the poker being set down again. Zero appeared in the door, his arms folded, his eyes narrowed. "But that's just because you _humans_ make us sound like the worse beasts in all the lands." I couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me, and my head hurt so much that I decided I didn't _want_ to know.

I rolled over onto my side and murmured a 'goodnight'.

*****

When I woke up the fourth morning, though, I immediately knew that something was amiss. First of all, Zero wasn't there. I sat up, letting the covers around me fall to my waist. Without saying anything, I looked around the room. No one was in the house it seemed, judging by the eerie silence that overshadowed the hut.

"Daiken?" Standing from my bed, I wobbled to the door frame. "Mistress? Zero?"

The kitchen was abandoned and nobody answered my calls. I stepped outside, the sun blocked by big fluffy gray clouds. Glancing down the street, I saw a group of people gathering at the edge of the village. Running up to the groups, I spoke "What's going on?"

Marion spun towards me, her eyes wide with fear. " Zero is missing! He left sometime early in the morning and he hasn't returned!" I sighed, not at all afraid.

"He's a grown man, he'll be fine."

"But Daiken said that there's a dragon around." Marion was on the verge of tears. "He'll be eaten!"

I felt a surge of anger; Marion didn't know Zero enough to worry about him _or _about his dragon bein. "Shut up," I childishly snapped. "I'm sure the dragon wouldn't harm anyone!"

Marion threw me a sneer. "Well, sorry then!" she mumbled sarcastically, and pushed through the crowd. I watched the spot where she disappeared with a glare, knowing that it was stupid and childish to even do such things.

"Alys, there you are." I snapped out of my gaze of hatred and looked up at the voice. Jasalee was hovering over me, gazing down at me.

"Mistress..." I started.

"There's no time now Alys; go find Zero and make the village shut up, alright?" She shook her head miserably and rubbed her forehead. "Heaven forbid how everyone freaks out about it," she murmured, then returned her attention back to me. "Go and look for him--he told me this morning before he left that you would know where to find him."

At that moment, I realized how old Jasalee looked. Her dull, brown eyes were fading, her lips papery thin and cracked with the sharp wind. Her hair was tightly pulled back into a bun on top of her head, revealing her slightly sagging skin around her cheeks and neck. Wrinkles creased her face, and her squinted eyes could see everything. She was so beautiful though, I remembered thinking to myself. In her own, special little way, Jasalee was beautiful.

And I loved her.

"I'll go," I responded. "I'll be back by dinner meal, too." I nodded to her and pushed through the crowd towards the forest.

Zero was right; I did know where to find him. My water-hole, of course.

I passed a few of other search parties as I made my way through the forest. Most of them were young boys who's fathers most likely sent them out to look for the dragon-youth--even if they didn't know about the dragon part. None of them followed me; I don't even think any of them even wanted to be out looking for some man.

Finally, I stumbled into my clearing, the water running quicker--a sure sign of a storm coming. Heaving deep breaths from running all the way through the trees, I noticed him sitting by the remains of the fire from the other night on the opposite bank, his back towards me.

"Here...you are..." I whispered, catching my breath. "Everyone... is looking ...for you."

Zero didn't respond; he just sat as still as a stone. Finally caught up with my breathing, I walked to the waters edge. "C'mon, Zero," I prodded. "I came all this way just to find you sitting here."

I saw his head tilt to the right. "The skies are gray today." He spoke in a polite, intrigued tone, like he'd never seen such a color.

I found myself glancing up at the darkening sky. "Yeah." I shivered. "Yeah, they are. We should get heading home soon before the storm picks up." His head tilted to the left slowly.

"Home?" He spoke the word quietly.

"Yes," I answered, raising my voice over the rushing water. "Everyone is waiting for you."

Only silence returned to me, the waters muting to my ears as I was straining to hear a response from him. Then, there was his warm chuckle. His deep, throaty, chuckle.

"What's so funny?" I asked, drawing my brows together.

Zero stood, then, the material of his shirt rippling in the rising wind. He was tall, I realized, gazing at his full structure as he slowly turned towards me.

His dark, black hair hung in his eyes, which where narrowed naturally as his gaze. His perfectly angled face was pulled into the smirk that went with the chuckle that was still bursting from between his soft lips.

"You're so absurd." He laughed out right for a second or two, then reigned himself in, and composed his facial expression.

"I don't understand," I mumbled, knowing that he could hear me.

He shook his head in mockery, acting as though I couldn't ever understand, and sighed. "Did you truly think I could just stay here with you and your people forever?"He shook his head again, a small, sad smile playing his lips. "I'm afraid not."

"What..." I struggled to find the words. "What are you trying to say?"

Awkwardly, Zero shifted on his feet and threw me a grin. "Sorry. I'm not good at saying goodbyes."

I remember flinching at the word. _Goodbye_? I had to ask myself to make sure it sounded like it was coherent. "G-goodbye? " Something dropped on my head, cold and hard. Then there was a second one.

A third. A fourth.

It was raining, cold, unforgivable water.

Zero stared at me with no emotion this time. "I'm leaving."

"But I..." I glanced around frantically, searching for anything to prove that this was a dream. "Why?...I mean, how could... I mean...." I closed my eyes and though for an acutal answer rather than ramblings. I looked up at the man defiantly. "I'm not letting you go; I haven't re-payed you for saving my life."

Zero, smiling saddly again, waved me away. "I'll be saving that favor for later."

I felt the tears brim my eyes. " You can't leave," I whimpered, blinking back the hot tears. "You just can't."

He smirked, but the smiled didn't touch his golden eyes. "Watch me," he whispered.

"Zero!" I was splashing through the water towards him, keeping my gaze upon his golden eyes, the only thing that could convince me that this was all reality. The more harder I tried to reach him, the farther away he seemed to fade. "No, don't go!" I stretched my hand to him, choking on a sob that hitched itself in my throat. The swift current of the water pulled at me, making me lose my balance, and I nearly plummeted into the icy water.

Hot fingers molded around my fragile wrist, and before I knew it, I was hanging from my hand in front of the dragon-youth, but my hair hanging in my eyes from the water was blocking my sight so I couldn't see anything.

**The last thing I heard Zero say:**

**I'm sorry, Alys.**

Then, there was a sharp pain through my body, and the next thing I knew was that I was being set down, presumably rocks by the feel of it. The pain was hot and searing, I couldn't find my words to even begin to say anything to the man.

"Please," was the only word that I could comprehend. "Please, please, please." I was able to bring myself together more to see his golden eyes one last time. "Please, Zero..."

Then, as the dragon blinked, I lost sight of the gold, and my world fell and shattered around me as I fell into a deep unconsciousness.

********

Splattered milk was the first thing I saw. It didn't make any sense to me at first, my mind jogged at the numbing lingering feeling of the pain. I took a smell of the newly wet earth, doused by natures tears, and I started to see things clearly.

I was in the forest, wrapped in a tunic, hidden under a bureau of tree roots under a sky full of stars, soaked to the bone, and only mildly disorientated now.

And I was alone.

There was nobody, nothing, no sound. No Zero.

_No Zero._

But there was the smell of smoke lingering in the air. The smell of death on the winds caress. I sat up slowly, clutching the tunic to my chest as I climbed out of the root-hut. It looked to be midnight, judging by the position of the moon, and the sound of my river came flooding to my ears.

"Zero." For some odd reason, I felt obliged to whisper it, even if I said it so quietly no one could even hope to hear me. I sighed, and clutched the tunic even harder, knowing, somehow, that it was indeed the dragon's tunic; his -not-so-good-goodbye-present.

And I smiled, and took the 'gift' under my arms. _Thank you Zero._

The scent of burning wood caught my attention again, stronger now. I looked back once more at the pond, and thanked the dragon mentally again, stateing that I hope he would come to recieve his favor someday soon.

At the thought of returning home, I froze for some odd reason. I wasn't sure why, but I felt uneasy, like maybe going there wasn't what I wanted to see.

But where else did I have to go?

Slowly, quietly, I traveled back home, almost collapsing a couple of times, since, for some odd reason, pain still surged through out my body every few seconds.

As I broke through the trees onto the dirt path that led to the village, I noticed that the mud from the rain was churned up by what looked to be wheels and horse hooves. That was strange; our village hardly ever had visitors. I glanced up at the sky, letting my eyes follow the trail of smoke breaching to the moon. The smoke was coming from someplace north, up near the village...

An abrupt gasp sprung from my mouth, and I was suddenly running up the road as fast as I could. I rounded the corner and stopped in my tracks, seeing what the moons' light revealed.

Ah, my small, little Saint Careloon, once pretty to my eye and prosperous and busy, was played out in front of me, charred, burnt, quiet and dead.

_Dead_.

The fires which had obviously burnt down the houses were now gone, only small smoke streams reached out to the stars. Everything seemed to be gone; the Vleeters house, the Patchwork Shop, the Tinsmiths, the chapel, even my own house... they were gone, crumbled into particles at their once-upon-a-time-bases.

I didn't even have to think about what had happened. It was bandits who had done this. That explained the hooves grooved into the mud, the wheel treads plastered into the wet earth.

I only remember walking into the ruined village, looking for any sign on life, hoping that someone could have survived, and then stopping and gazing horrifically at the structure in the middle of the village.

It was from the elm tree that was the center point of Saint Careloon that I saw two figures hanging from ropes at their necks, both having blood-stained tunics. One of them was one of the farmers sons', Crasu, whom was only a few years older than I and whom I played games with when we were both younger.

The other blood soaked man was Daiken.

His slightly gray-brown hair was stuck to his face from the rains, and the skin next to the rope around his neck was slightly purple, bruise-like. His brown eyes weren't brown anymore; they took on more of a maroonish color now, and were all dazed over.

In my shock, I realized that it was Zero who had saved me from this. He was the one that kept me hidden at my water hole, and knocked me out so I would go back home. Whether he knew it or not, he had saved my life, and I owed him another favor. Thinking of Zero made me think about how he left me, which made me think about the dangling man in front of me, staring at me with dead, glazed eyes, who had also left. me.

I realized also, suddenly, that I didn't get to say goodbye to either of them.

Then, I finally fell to my knees, crying, with only the half waning moon to watch me suffer.

* * *

**_There always has to be tragidy somewhere in a story, right?  
Poor Alys. X( Why do I make her suffer?  
Well, review and all the junk. If you really feel the need to, you can scold me for being a procrastinator and junk. I really do deserve it. :( Sorry for the delay you guys!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_First off; Merry Late Christmas everyone and Happy New year! Let's make this a good year, alright?_**

**_Well, look at this! I'm even proud of myself for updating so quickly! *Go me!* I have to go back to school tomorrow, and I still have to work on homework (you know that I LOVE to put things off) and do a report on Leonardo Da Vinci for my art class. It'll be uber fun to do! (Not really.) I decided for this to be a late Christmas present for all of you that care. I had to go to my Grandma's house last week and it was pretty adventurous. Eating at Ihop in the middle of the night can get pretty damn intense!  
This is the first chapter of Alys as a grown woman, and it's more of a background chapter than anything, I suppose. Please enjoy!_**

**_Oh, and thanks to those who have reviewed:  
Dusk2DawnIwrite  
Eskimo680  
MessedUp2012  
mydirt09  
It really means ALOT to me everyone! _**

**_

* * *

_**

**_Chapter Five_**

**_~*~*~*~*~*~_**

**_Six Years Later_**

"Alys, we need you over here," Gen called, carrying an armload of cloths' through the entrance archway and up the stairs.

"Okay, I'll be right there." I thanked Iskim and pushed off of the wall, brushing my skirt off.

"Alys, keep in mind that you were to meet the other Innkeeper's son tonight." Iskim smiled softly at me.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "I really don't even want to, though." Iskim continued to smile as he walked up t me, and brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.

"I don't want you to, either." I leaned into his touch smiling now, slightly blushing. Iskim dropped his hand, placing it on his hip. "But you're a woman now, Alys. You need to settle."

Smile gone, I sighed and turned away from him. "You know I won't be happy if I do this."

"You wouldn't be happy with anyone, not even me." He raised his eyebrows at me,smirking.

"That's not true," I stammered, blushing. "Once I find the right guy, I'll be set."

"Why not any of the men here?"

I leaned back against the wall again, staring at the floor by my bare feet. "I don't want to trust men," I whispered. "I don't want to say goodbye."

Iskim laughed out right, despite the solemn mood. "When are you going to tell me about this past-lover of yours? It's been six years now, and I haven't heard a word about him!"

"He wasn't my lover," I pouted, throwing him a nasty glare. "I was only 12, for God's sake."

Iskim was young for all the responsibilities that he had. His face was hitting it's point where is was in-between it's childish roundness and it grown sharpness, and his light brown hair swept around his face and back into the low ponytail he kept it in. He had sharp brown eyes, and somewhat strange rosy cheeks for a grown man. His lean body arched forward slightly as he folded his arms at me, and raised a dark, heavy brow at me.

"Alys, hurry up please!" Gen yelled at me before Iskim could speak again, walking past with another armload of cloths.

"I'm on it." I threw Iskim another look before following Gen out of the kitchen and into the dining area of the Inn. Gen set down the cloths on a table, and asked me to help place the fabric on the wooden tables.

"Is that man _still_pressuring you to get married?" Gen sighed when I nodded. "Don't listen to him, Alys. He just wants you to give in and marry him, and you deserve a much better man than Iskim."

"That's not nice to say, Gen," I scolded, flapping out the sheet over the wooden surface. "He took us in when no one else would."

Gen smiled lightly at me. "Yeah, I know."

*

This place that I was brought to was called Stuttgrad. It was a pretty big town; a grand chapel reaching to the skies, several Inn's and places to eat and shop. There was a stone wall that surrounded the perimeter of the town edges and several guards patrolled the stone wall all day and night.

Iskim had found me days after Saint Careloon was burnt down, cold and hungry, wrapped with the dirty tan tunic around my shoulders. He was only three years older than I was and yet he still took me into his arms and took me home with him.

When we arrived at his home in Stuttgrad, I found out that he had taken another girl in around my age. Her name was Gen; she had had a family in Stuttgrad, but they died of sickness, leaving Gen homeless and poor. Iskim, who also had lost all family relations, was old enough and strong enough to take care of himself and others. He took in Gen and I by his own will, letting her stay in the Inn that his parents had apparently left behind. Gen had been with him for seven years, and I for six years. They were like my family now.

*

After Gen and I finished with the tables, we decided to take a break and take a walk down by the river that ran through the northern district of the town.

As we walked past the only other Inn in town besides' Iskim's, Gen glanced at the entrance, then back at me, smirking. "So, are you excited to go with this Innkeeper's son?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No, of course not."

"Alys," Gen sighed. "You have to open up a little sometime."

"Usually when I do, it always comes back around to bite me."

Gen tilted her head, and smiled at me. "You never finished telling me about Zero."

Gen was my sibling figure, since I had never had one before. She had dark, almost black, blue eyes fringed with dark lashes, and black hair that hung just to her shoulders, straight as a sheet of water. She had been curvy since the day I met her, so she had a very nice body, not too heavy, and not too light. She always compares herself to me, saying that she could probably stand to have a little bit smaller breast, but I personally couldn't stand being so curvy. Despite whatever Gen says, I know my chest is bigger than hers, which is ironic since I had been flat as a board until I turned 16.

I gave her nothing but a quick glance before saying "When did I tell you about Zero?"

She looked up at the sky, watching a lone cloud that hovered just below the sun. I looked up with her, knowing exactly why she was doing such a thing. Gen's parents were always watching her, according to Gen's explanations. She told me when we were young that our loved ones became the stars in the skies at night, continuing to watch over us. Older now, we knew the ugly truth about what death really was, but it did nothing to lessen her conviction that her parents still loved her.

"When I first met you Alys," she said as we stopped in front of an oak tree by the small river, "you looked pretty sad and lonely, even if you were holding onto Iskim's hand so warmly. I felt as though you had felt my pain as well, so I welcomed you also." Gen smiled at me in a sad way, looking down from the blue sky. "You talked in your sleep the first night you came here, and as you whispered the names, tears streamed down your face."

Gen's smile faded and she leaned against the oak. "The names just continued: Jasalee, Daiken, Pastor, and so on and so forth." Each name was like a stab at my gut, making my eyes sting. Gen noticed, and continued with her explanation. "Zero was the last name you said before you awoke abruptly." She suddenly smiled at me. "Remember? I was sitting next to your bedside just staring at you."

I smiled lightly back, but could still only vaguely remember.

"I wanted to ask you about it then, you know. About who Zero was. But you looked like you were on the verge of tears, so I just went back to bed instead."

I sat at the base of the tree gazing up at her. "Why didn't you ask in these past six years?"

"To tell the truth," she explained," I totally forgot about it until I heard Iskim asking you about it." Gen shook her head. " I still remember you refusing him to tell him anything about it, so I was too scared to even ask you myself for all these years.

When Iskim asked you about it this morning, though, you didn't sound near as offensive as you did back when you were twelve. So I figured it was high time I asked you about him."

"Well, Zero was..." I realized that I couldn't fully tell Gen the truth. Zero had said that people figuring out he was a dragon could be bad, and, even if he wasn't there, I didn't want to ruin that for him. " Zero was a friend to our family, I guess." A friend seemed simple enough, even if he was only there for a couple of days.

I heard Gen sigh. "Alys, that can't be all of it. Spill it."

I looked down at my hands folded in my lap, thinking of some words to explain it to her.

"Gen, Alys! Hey!" We both looked up at the familiar voice, and a young man in his early twenties walked up to us. "Whatcha two up to?" He asked, grinning at us.

"We were trying to have a deep conversation until you had to ruin it!" Gen scolded the man poking a finger into his chest. "When are you going to stop popping out of nowhere, anyways, Relen?"

Relen rubbed his neck, smiling. "Sorry, Gen. You know I don't mean to." Gen pouted at him for a moment before sighing, smiling, then shaking her head.

"Sometimes, I worry about you, I hope you know."

Relen was Gen's husband-to-be, I guess you could say. They were to wed someday soon, according to Iskim, who was trying to save enough money to get them something nice for a parting gift. Relen was a bulky man; tall and muscular. He had a square, set jaw and a fine patch of hair covered his lower face--jaw, chin and such--. He had the cutest smile that I had ever seen, despite his tough guy demeanor. He had small, brown eyes, and dark heavy hair that hung loosely in his eyes. He was 24, taking on his fathers business as the tinsmith in Stuttgrad.

Relen looked down at me,smiling. "Hey, Allie."

I smiled at the nickname. "Hey Rel. How are you?"

He scratched at his stubbly chin, wrapping his other arm around Gen's waist and bringing her to him, making her giggle and blush. "Ah, business is slow lately. This damned war is making life so hard on bargainers like me."

I nodded seriously, closing my eyes briefly.

The war was more talked-about here Stuttgrad, even the first day I came here, it was a big phenomenon. The fighting hurt this town a lot; it was often attacked by passing enemies, which made the roads unsafe, which meant that no travelers nor traders came by the town very often. It affected the Inn's as well, so I always had an earful from hearing Iskim complain.

I looked back up at Gen. "Hey, I should probably go back to the Inn." I stood up, brushing off my dress. "We'll continue our conversation later, alright?"

Gen pouted for a minute, pushing away from Relen. "Do you promise? You're usually too grumpy to even talk to me when we go to bed at night, which is when we'll probably see each other."

I laughed, and slightly bowed my head. "I'll try, I guess." I waved to her and Relen, and continued back down the streets.

I glanced up at the sky; it was a nice day, a bright, high sun and small, fluffy clouds hovered in the sky, so I decided to take a walk outside of town, just to escape for a few moments. The town gates, opened, were lined with merchants who were eager to sell their products to new visitors. None of them tried to sell me anything as I walked by, for they knew very well who I was and that I wouldn't buy anything from them. The guard positioned on the outer side of the wall gave me a wary look, but didn't say anything as I nodded to him, and walked down the dirt path towards the forest.

The land that surrounded Stuttgrad was very beautiful; lush, rolling green hills surrounded the town, a long, winding river that went through the town, acting as a water source for everybody. In the far distance, there were dark, pointy mountains, tipped with snow that showed that winter was just around the corner. The grasses in the meadows trailed just below my hips, humming bees and small twittering brown birds flying just above the swaying tips. The packed dirt road winded all the way through the forest, over the mountain, and onto the next valley which I had never seen before. Branching to the right just before the forest shadowed the path was another path, one that I took frequently.

Just like at Saint Careloon, I had a special spot here in Stuttgrad, and just like at Saint Careloon, it was another water hole.

This water hole, however, was not hidden. Many stopped by there, and it was much too shallow to swim in the small path, it only took a minute before you approached the small pond, and, if you were lucky, you'd be the only one there.

The water's shimmer died away as I walked closer to the edge and sat down in the grass with a small sigh. No one was here today to my great relief. I watched the water rush over the small rocks for a while before falling back, sprawling into the earth-rich smelling grass. I closed my eyes, and just for a moment, I was twelve again, laying by my swimming hole, listening to it bubble melodically with the sun kissing my round face.

For a moment, I wasn't all alone anymore.

Then, I hear a snippet of chatter, and my eyes calmly opened slowly. Sitting up, I glanced behind me, seeing that two women were approaching on the path. Scowling slightly, I rose from the ground and brushed the dirt off of my dress.

"Good evening," I greeted, recognizing them from the village patchwork shop. Both of them nodded joyfully at me, and continued to talk as they sat by the waters edge.

Suddenly uncomfortable, I walked back down the path, heading towards the gates.

Another thing about the water hole: I didn't like to share it. It was like sharing my memories, and those were things I liked to keep for only myself.

****

"Good luck Alys! Have a great time!" Gen pushed me out the door lightly, giggling as I stumbled over a rock.

"You _know_ I won't!" I replied in much the same tone, feigning a grin.

Gen shook her head, smiling, and folded her arms. "At least pretend to; for Iskim's sake." I shrugged as I turned away from her and walked down the darkening street.

"If Iskim really cared, he wouldn't be throwing me out like some wanton girl."

As I walked away, I could barely make out Gen retorting "He doesn't think of you like that, for God's sake!" I still turned around to smile and wave to her, wrapping the wool shawl around my shoulders tighter to ward off the cold night air.

The only reason I could think of--could even _fathom_-- that Iskim would send me out to mingle with this Innkeeper boy--Chrisstoph was his name--was that that maybe if we hit it off with each other, the two Inn's would combine and business would flourish. Chriss wasn't much a sight, nor was he very handy. He spends most of his time at the brewery, flirting with the lass from the vleeter business. I didn't want to think that Iskim just wanted to dump me on such a man; I'd most likely be better off alone!

Before I entered the Inn, appropriately named The West-side Inn, I stopped outside the door and took a few deep breaths. I would only have to stay for an hour or so before I could go back home. _I can do this_, I thought to myself. With another deep breath, I opened the door and entered the warm, brightly lit room.

Only a few people were out at the tables throughout the commons area, almost all drinking a glass of ale.

"Alys, over here." I turned towards the voice, and I spotted Chriss at at table near the hearth. The flames cast shadows about his face, and it didn't help my resolve at all. I approached the table gingerly, almost flinching when he thrusted a glass of ale at me.

"Oh, n-no thank you," I whispered, but still took hold of the glass. "I'm not much of a drinker." Chriss' hair was long and stringy against his brow and shoulders, his dull brown eyes glazed over even more with the ware of alcohol. He was in his early twenties, but consumed drinks as if he had thirty years of experience.

He only smiled at me, showing a grin that was missing one tooth on the right. "Please, sit Alys." I pulled out the chair and sat in it, directly across from him, without saying anything. I focused on my fingers as pinched them together, waiting for him to choose a path for the conversation. "You look beautiful," he whispered, bringing the edge of the glass to his lips. I closed my eyes warily. That _wasn't_ the path I had wanted to take. "But you normally do, so..." He lifted his glass up in the air, yelling to his younger brother that he wanted more ale.

"Well, thank you, Chriss," I said, finally finding my voice. "How's everything holding up here?" I looked at him innocently when he threw me an accusing glare for changing the subject. He waited until he had another foaming glass of ale to respond.

"Ah, business is business; it's been a little slow." I nodded sagely,and he continued. "Father's stressed out about work and such, so it's also been a little stressful on me." I glanced up at him at his tone change. His eyes were lowered at me, a small grin on his lips. "Would it be too much to ask if you could give me a massage?"

I broke out in a smile. "As a matter of fact, it would be." I looked into the fire to the right of the table, studying the flickering flames.

Chriss sighed, then grunted, then swallowed the rest of his beverage in one gulp. "Iskim is such a bastard." I turned back to Chris, shocked that he would say such a thing.

"What makes you say that?" I retorted, my shock thick on my words.

Chriss leaned back in his chair and scratched at his rough chin. "He keeps you all to himself, he does." The younger brother came out again with another glass of ale, taking the empty glass back with him. He threw me a look that I took to be apologetic, but Chriss quickly waved the thirteen year old boy again.

"But Iskim sends me out to see suitors," I argued, pushing away from the table again. "The last time I checked, that isn't keeping me to himself."

Iskim swigged down a gulp and looked down at me as he sat up straighter in his chair. His eyes narrowed. "He's got you wrapped around his finger, Alys. You'd obey any order he'd give you. He treats you like a princess, and it's given you a big head." I opened my mouth to point out his offensiveness, but he quickly cut me off with a low growl. "He's 'specially made you proud so you wouldn't look at any man beside himself. There's nothing uglier in this world than a woman with a thick head, Alys."

"You're wrong!" I snapped, standing up from my chair so quickly that I sent my glass of ale spilling to the floor. "If I _wanted _to marry Iskim, I would have already!" The talking from the others in the room stopped, but I continued to rant. "The only reason that I haven't is because he is like my brother--all the other men in this stinky town, including you, only look at me like I'm worth the dirt on their shoes or some wench to fill the empty spots in their cots." I turned towards the exit and stomped past all the tables.

"Maybe that's all you're worth then, Alys." I snapped around to look back at Chriss, who was drinking again, his eyebrows raised at me.

I sucked in a low breath, holding it for a moment, then let it out. "Then I'm afraid that you all have _much_ too high expectations. Have a pleasant evening." I made sure to slam the door behind me.

Only ten minutes, I thought to myself. Only ten minutes, and I manage to start a fight. Won't Iskim be _so_ happy? I sighed, the cool night air calming my anger-flushed cheeks. He can't expect me to be happy with men that only want me for their own pleasures. I looked up at the sky. _I've never had the luxury to get what I wanted._

I decided that I could walk around the town for a few more minutes, just to lay off going home to make Iskim angry.

I walked past the tinsmiths house, kicking at a rock that lay in the path. "Why is everyone so persistent for me to marry?" I whispered out loud, hugging myself with the shawl. "It's not like I'm way past marriageable age; I still have a couple of years." I sighed, abandoning the rock and turned on my heel to head back home.

_But maybe_, I though to myself, _maybe_ I _am being the foolish one_._ What am I waiting for--what am I hoping for? These are times of war, not silly little girls to wish and dream. Maybe I'm asking for too much?_

Suddenly, I bumped into something, stumbling back a step. "I'm so sorry!" I immediately said, catching my balance. Something wrapped around my wrist, and by the pressure and feel of it, it was a hand with calloused fingers. I glanced up, assessing the burly, ale-smelling man in front of me, a small grin on his face.

"'Ello, pretty lass," he murmured, his eye glazed in lust. "What's a pretty bird like you doing out here all alone?"

I sighed, already knowing where this was headed. "Please, sir, I just want to go home."

His grin grew into a smirk, and he tightened his hold on my wrist. "I'm afraid I can't let that happen, lass.'

"Just let me go." I tugged at his hold, bracing myself to scream.

Before I could acknowledge his movements, his face was suddenly an inch from mine and his other hand was placed roughly over my mouth, which immediately erupted with muffled screams. I clamped my eyes shut to hide the fear that danced within them. I could smell his awful breath, which meant he was much too close for comfort. Continuing to scream, I tried to pry his hand away from my right wrist, so I could at least have a chance of fighting back.

"We'll 'ave some fun tonight," he whispered, his putrid breath making me choke back a gag.

Then, his hands were ripped from my body, and his scream took over my own. I looked up abruptly, gasping when I saw that an arm was reached around me, long, lean fingers gripping and twisting the mans arm that had been over my mouth while the other hand gripped and pulled at the pressured fingers. I suddenly felt an overwhelming presence behind me, and I froze erectly. The drunk man's face was plaster with pain, and it scared me to a point that I was stiff and couldn't even move.

"She said to let go," a dark voice from behind me hummed. "I suggest that you heed her words."

Then man, now begging for mercy, pried away from his trap and stumbled away, wheezing swears and apologies.

I became all too aware of the presence behind me, the warmth radiating off of it. Who ever it was, they were standing too close. As much as it was a bother, it was a calming presence as well; a feeling of security washed over me.

The hand that had gripped the man fell on my shoulder. "Alys," the voice came again, deep and husky, making a involuntary shudder bolt through my body. "Are you okay?" It was so familiar, this voice, this scent. Where had I encountered them _both_ before?

"Yeah," I breathed, still frozen in my place. "I--I'm fine."

"Look at me."

I hesitated, but finally built up the courage to turn around slowly.

The presence was a young man, maybe 19, with spiky, dark hair, sun-kissed skin, thin but sturdy features, perfect lips, an angel smile, and utterly, breath-taking, golden eyes fringed with dark, long eye-lashes. He was at least a head taller than I was, dressed in a farmers tunic and breeches, tied with a frayed rope knotted lazily at and angle, and no shoes were placed on his feet, which spread out in the dirt of the road.

"_Zero_." I breathed, wide-eyed, and suddenly flustered.

The youth laughed. "Don't scare me like that Alys; I thought you hadn't recognized me."

I couldn't help but smile at his grin. "Well, you haven't changed at all!" I pointed out, and it was true. He looked exactly as he had 6 years ago, which reminded me, inevitably, that he was a dragon and could live forever. The only difference now was that I noticed, with much chagrin, that he was extremely handsome, the way his body shifted as he folded his arms and shuffled on his feet. Blushing, I looked quickly away.

"And I won't change for quite a while longer, Alys," Zero mused, flashing me his white teeth. His eyes suddenly dropped down my body, then back up to my eyes. "Seems like I can't say the same about you, though. _You've_ grown."

"Of course," I replied back. I realized I should have been mad at him about that, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything, still in shock from him actually being here. "What are you even doing here anyways?"

Zero looked up at the almost full moon, letting his face fall and a sigh occupy his lungs.

When he looked back down at me, he shrugged innocently and whispered "I've come for my favor."

**_

* * *

_**

**_I'm sorry, but I must end it here for now! Zero came back! YAY! Hugs of joy. Sorry if this isn't so good: I had to literally SQUEEZE it out of my mental banks.  
Zero is in need of a favor, hmmmm...but does anybody even know what the consequences are if Alys agrees!!??  
Of course not. You will figure out in the next chapter.  
Oh, and not-so-important-points:  
My first song of 2010: Fireflies by Owl City  
My first movie of 2010: The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds  
My first thing to eat of 2010: A bowl of Fruity Pebbles. :3 (those are good for the soul)._**

**_Oh, and for anyone out there who has a deviantart account, I would LOVE IT if you wanted to do any fanart, my account name is animemangetsu. Even people who don't have a deviantart, I absolutely _love fan art_! :) Send it to me at my e-mail: animeangel_36()yahoo(.)com (Just take out the bracket thingys: thanks to Killer Zebra for the tip to fix it!)_**

_Please review and make my day that much better! Thanks again, Everyone!_


	6. Chapter 6

**_Happy February Everyone! :3 Hope this year has been good for you all so far!_**

**_First of all, sorry if there was a great delay for you and this chapter. I've been down in the pits for weeks now, so this was actually a pick-me up. I found a song yesterday that has my name in it, and it made me extremely happy! So happy, I decided to work on this story! I finished almost this whole chapter in one day. :3 That makes me happy! Our second semester started only a week from the release of the last chapter, so I've had to adapt to new classes. Most of them suck--the only one I truly like now is Orchestra(yes, I play an instrument) and English (and I only like this class 'cause there is an extremely perverted kid in that class. :3 He's my buddy.) Oh, and I've been raging for the past couple of weeks since, apparently 'I-tunes isn't compatible with Windows:Vista' anymore. THAT JUST PISSES THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ME!_**

**_But, then again, I like to rage quite a bit. :3_**

**_Okay, this chapter is where you will finally figure out what Zero is up to, and where the plot finally starts to rear it's head. I wrote most of this chapter, as said before, in one day, so, I probably could have pondered about it more and written it better, but, eh, I figured I'd get this chapter out._**

**_Thanks for Reviewing!:  
Killer Zebra  
AiDeeKay  
mydirt09  
messedup2012  
-You know how much it means to me, everyone! :3-_**

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**_Chapter Six_**

I didn't realize that I was bleeding, but suddenly Zero's intense stare went to my wrist.

"You're hurt," he simply murmured, reaching for my hand.

I flinched slightly at the feel of his burning skin on mine. "No," I whispered, examining the cut. "It's just a scratch, no worries." Zero, who was bent over to study the fleshwound, gazed up at me through his dark lashes, but said nothing.

My stomach busted into butterflies and I looked away. "Anyways, what kind of favor are you looking for?"

Zero straightened, still holding my hand in his."Let's not worry about that right at this moment. I'm going to take you home now so we can patch up this cut." He started walking down the street, tugging me along by my hand.

Blushing from the contact, I protested. "N-no, it's fine,Zero." He turned his head to smile back at me, dazzling me, making me fluster even more.

"Even small wounds fester, Alys. We'll take care of it."

Why did my stomach twist so unpleasantly when he said my name? Well,maybe it wasn't discomfort, but it certainly made me feel uneasy, staggered.

When I dared to look up from our connected hands, I noticed we were standing in front of Iskim's Inn, the Travelers Tavern and Bed.

"Wait." I halted to a stop, making Zero tug once on my resisting stance until he looked back at me, his eyes narrowed.

"What?" He finally asked, sounding a little peeved. He must have been really worried about the cut.

"How do you even know that I live here?" I asked, pulling a little challenge in my voice.

Zero smirked at that." I've been around." He laughed outright for a moment, making the most intriguing laugh that I had ever heard. Then, as if he remembered where he was, he stopped abruptly and continued with a smile "It's been interesting to watch you, Alys. Especially when you yell at drunken fools."

I felt my face heat up at the implication at him seeing my fuss with Chriss. "They are simply too rude! A lady must never hear such things." I said defending myself.

Zero started to tug me along again."I know what's under that facade, Alys, so it's no use to try to hide your burly side."

I scowled at the back of his head and used my free arm to reach in front of me to punch his shoulder."Stop being rude!" I scolded him.

Zero only merely laughed at my assault and pulled me onto the porch of the inn.

Before Zero even opened the door, I could hear Gen and Iskim laughing inside, and for a split second, I felt my face pale. What was I going to tell them? That a strange man was dragging me around town while I was supposed to be seeing a suitor? Iskim wouldn't be happy, I didn't think. Gen might have thought that I was shameless, running off with the most handsome man that visited the town.

And Zero _was_ handsome,I had to admit. His face was lean yet sturdy,perfectly angled with a flawless grin spread across his sun-kissed skin. _And those eyes!_ So breathtaking, so complex, that I could stare into them forever and never figure out what secrets were placed within them.

The warm air that swirled out of the Inn and around my face knocked me out of my split daze, and I was almost blinded by the candle light that flickered at me.

When my eyes re-adjusted to the light, I noticed Iskim and Gen sitting at the table near the hearth, Gen sewing a patch on a shirt while Iskim sipped his ale. A few other people sat among the table as well, chattering quietly.

Iskim looked up at me, and disappointment flooded his face. I glanced down from his gaze, suddenly ashamed.

I jumped slightly when I felt Zero's burning hand on my lower back, pushing to lead me into the room. I glanced up at him for a moment, then back to the floor, watching my feet as I began to walk. Halfway across the room, I dared another peek up at Iskim, but his face wasn't upset anymore. I look of genuine intrigue lit his face, and a small smile played his lips. Gen, who had looked up as well, was wide-eyed and utterly confused.

Iskim cleared his throat as we approached the table. "Back so soon, Alys?" That disappointing gleam touched his eyes, and I immediately mumbled my apologies.

"Do not blame it on dear Alys here," Zero suddenly voiced in, making my body tense. "It was simply my fault; I aroused a bar-fight and Alys got cut from breaking mugs." He held up my hand that I suddenly realized he was holding to show them the cut from the tip of my index finger to my palm. "I decided to bring her home immediately."

Iskim didn't look too convinced, I noticed."May I ask who you are, stranger?"

"O-of course!" I ripped my hand from Zero's, flushing bright red. "How rude of me! Iskim, this is Zero, a friend from my time in St. Careloon." I turned towards Zero, ignoring his smugly risen eyebrow. "Zero, this is Iskim, my guardian, and my adoptive sister, Gen."

Gen stood up in a heart beat, placing her sewing material on the table. "It's nice to meet you, Zero!" She enthused, raising a hand in front of her. Zero took her hand and kissed the back lightly.

"The pleasures all mine, my dear." He threw here his signature grin, releasing her hand. Gen excused herself, fanning herself as she walked up the stairs. I held back my irritated sigh and focused my attention back on Iskim's reaction as the two men shook hands.

By the way Iskim slightly shook his hand after the shake, I could already tell that Iskim liked Zero _a lot_.

"Thank you for bringing her home, Zero," Iskim said, then raised his mug. "Would you mind for a drink?"

"Actually..." I started, getting ready to tell Iskim that Zero had to leave.

"I'd take great pleasure in it, thank you." I stared with bewilderment at Zero as he sat himself in the chair Gen had occupied.

"But...but wait," I stuttered, as Iskim sat back down. "Zero, I still need to talk to you."

"I'll be here for a while, dear Alys." Zero grinned at me over his mug. "We'll have enough time to talk tomorrow."

"But I..."Iskim waved me away with his hand.

"Get some sleep, Alys. Today has been a long day." For some odd reason, I had a bad feeling of leaving them alone to talk. Zero winked at me, then flicked his head towards the stairs gesturing for me to go to bed.

"Have Gen look at that cut for me," Zero added, tilting the cup to his mouth.

I sighed,defeated, and made my way up the stairs. As I walked into my room I shared with Gen, she was there,of course, already demanding answers before I closed the door behind me.

"_That's _Zero!? Why didn't you tell me he has a resemblance of a god!?" Gen's face was still flushed from the hand-kiss.

I sat on the edge of my bed. "He wasn't that handsome back then, I guess." Gen took that in through silence, sitting on the edge of her bed across the room.

"You two grew up together, then?" She whispered, resting her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees.

"_You_ and _I_ grew up together, Gen," I mused. "Zero and I were just companions for a week or so."

She looked at me skeptically. "Then _why_ did he come all this way to find you?"

I sighed, rubbing my head lightly. "He saved my life, Gen. I told him I'd repay him, and now, he's come for that favor."

Her eyes lit up. "A favor? A favor like what? Marriage?" Her eyes got brighter, and brighter the more she questioned.

"No, not like that," I assured her. "There's something between Zero and I that we would never even _consider_ marriage. Besides, I don't think of him anymore than a brother."

Gen smirked, then stood up to take off her day dress. Slipping on her night-gown, she fell into her bed, her midnight hair spreading around her head in a fan.

"You'd best be careful, Alys," Gen commented, running her hands over the blanket. "If you wait too long to marry,most of the good men will be gone."

I ignored her completely, dressing in my night-gown as well. I asked Gen to clean my cut for Zero sake, and once it was wrapped lightly, I climbed under the bed covers and blew out the candle on my bedside table, just letting Gen's bedside candle light up the room.

"You know," Gen murmured sleepily. "If I wasn't so besotted with Rel, I would consider marrying that Zero fellow, Alys." Her covers rustled a little, then the light from her candle was blown out.

I felt my brows pucker together and my lips draw into a purse. "How can you even say that, Gen? You don't know anything about him."

"Well, yeah, but..." She paused for a moment. "But if you trust him, he can't be all that bad."

I brought my knees to my chest. "There's something so complex about him ,Gen. Believe me on that."

Gen was silent for a moment, and I felt my drowsiness drop my eye-lids.

"May I ask what?" I forced a smile to play my lips.

"It's mine and Zero's little secret Gen; I was strictly told not to tell anyone." I realized that I _could_ tell her--Zero had never told me to _not_tell anyone. But that puts him in danger,and that's the least thing that a dragon needs. The room fell silent, and soon after, I fell asleep.

-------

I woke up with the sun prying my eyes open. Gen was barely tying her bodice , looking in the small mirror we had on the wall. A small bird fluttered by the window, making me lightly flinch and regain my consciousness more. I yawned.

Gen smiled at me through my sleepy haze. "Nice hair," she commented, running her hands down the front of her gown. I frowned, patting down my knotted hair.

"What time is it?"I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes.

"Late morning; we slept for a long while."

I tilted my head lightly. "Why didn't Iskim come wake us up this morning?"

Gen shrugged, running a wooden comb through her hair. "I don't know, I haven't been downstairs yet."

Abruptly, I remembered that Zero was here as well, and that gave me a rough stab of hot fear. I had an inkling that Zero was the reason for Iskim's missed routine. The suspicion and fear kept me sitting in my bed, staring at Gen with a blank expression.

Gen placed the comb on the small table under the mirror and looked at my blank face. "What's wrong? You should be getting ready." Her brow furrowed.

I opened my mouth to say something, changed my mind, and pressed my lips together.

Gen's mouth twitched. "Is this about Zero?" She was grinning by the time she finished the short sentence.

I shook my head slowly, too slow to be a 'no' answer. "I have a _bad_ feeling about this..."

Gen just laughed at my troubled expression and pulled me out of bed. "Well, let's get dressed and see what's going on, okay?" I let her tug off my night dress for me and even let her throw my only other day dress in my face. I slowly got dressed, asking Gen to tie up my bodice while I combed my hair.

"I think you're just being paranoid," Gen added, even though I didn't say anything on the whole Zero matter again. "Like you said, you haven't seen him for a long time. Isn't it nice to see him again?"

I shrugged, not able to ignore the feeling despite Gen's calm words. "Sure--but it wasn't like we knew each other for that long." I looked into Gen's eyes through the mirror piece. "We only knew each other for about a week before he left and my village was destroyed."

"A week is long enough in my book." Gen tightened the bodice, tying it as tight as she could, making me suck in a low breath of small pain. "Especially when you're a child and time goes by slower." Gen finished with my dress and glanced over my shoulder into the mirror. She brushed some hair out of her eyes, and made a face at herself. "It's high time to take a bath again--it's been a while."

I smiled at her. "I took one two days ago, so why don't you take today's bath water?" Iskim would only take the time to heat up bath water about two times a week. Sometimes you'd have to sacrifice taking a bath for a week or so.

Gen thanked me, then we both filed out of the room. The Inn common room was oddly loud, voices and laughter floating up the stairs. My face paled at the thought that Zero had attracted a crowd. I prayed with all my heart that I _was_indeed paranoid as I descended the stairs, Gen giving me a weird look when I insisted that she should go first.

I couldn't decipher what the chatter was about as I took the last step, watching Gen enter through the arch way into the common area,out of my sight. I took a deep, low breath, let it out shakily, and walked stiffly towards the arch-way.

To my utter surprise, there were only a handful of people in the room, all crowded around Iskim, who was sitting near the entrance.

Zero wasn't anywhere in sight.

My body eased as I realized that I had indeed been foolish and paranoid. Iskim didn't wake us up because he had visitors, as it seemed.

My eye caught Gen, who was with the crowd, staring at Iskim with disbelief. Her dark eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly ajar. I stepped towards the table.

"What's going on?"

Suddenly, all of the eyes were on me, all wide. I couldn't look at all of them to figure out who was all there, for Iskim stood up, beaming brightly, mouth wide with a smile, but his eyes were mixed so tightly that I couldn't understand what was going on.

"Alys." Iskim reached out to me, but I could only stare at his hand quietly. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for my , I looked up to meet Gen's gaze, and she quickly looked away, so I went back to Iskim, who was smiling wider, but sadness was breaking through the facade in his eyes.

Slowly, I asked again, "What's going on?" My voice, surprisingly, didn't waver, despite the uncontrollable feeling of uncertainty inside.

"I found you a husband Alys," Iskim said lowly, still sadlysmiling.

I looked at him, shocked, my mouth opening slightly. "I.." I couldn't find the words to say anything. I looked around the crowd again, who was watching me intently, some eager, some disappointed. I let out the breath that I had unconsciously held. "Who?" I asked breathlessly.

Before Iskim could answer, Gen was suddenly ushering everyone outside. "We need a moment, please!" She was saying, pushing everyone out the door. "Family discussion." She shut the door tightly, then ran to the windows to shut the shutters.

Now, I was _really_ worried. "_Who!?"_ I asked again, desperate to know what the big deal was, although I was pretty sure I had a feeling of who it was.

Iskim was no longer smiling, and a concerned look shadowed his face. "Please, calm down Alys. It's not official." Iskim sat back down at the table, and calmly gestured for me to sit down. I complied, and folded my hand obediently, staring into Iskim's shifty eyes. He sighed, and scratched at his head,making me realize how young he seemed suddenly. "Zero and I were talking last night." The name made the blood rush from my face, rendering me speechless. When I didn't say anything, Iskim continued. "He told me about both of you time together when you were children." His eyes oddly flickered at that. "Then, he said that he would be honored to take your hand in marriage." I couldn't see anything anymore. I blankly stared at the table, and I barely noticed that the bandage around my hand was dampening with clammy sweat.

Slowly, I raised my hand to my head, covering my eyes at first, then slid my hand down to my mouth, letting a sigh escape. I looked up at Iskim, who was giving me a pleading look, a plead that I wasn't sure if it was saying for me to say 'yes' or 'no'. I glanced at Gen, who was still by the windows. Despite how excited she seemed last night at the thought of me marrying Zero, she was pale and had a concerned look on her face.

I took a deep breath, and it served as a calming effect. There _had_ to be an ulterior motive in this, knowing Zero. He had complained about humans so much that there was no way he'd actually marry one. Besides, I recalled him saying that he would only be with a human woman if the situation was dire, and, to me and most likely to him as well, there was no situation that was dire enough for this.

I let my hand drop, and I calmly gazed at Iskim. "Where is he? Can I speak with him?" I set my face into a hard position, not wanting my emotions to betray me.

Iskim lightly smiled although it didn't touch his eyes. "He should be around main town, near the water way."

I nodded to him, then to Gen. "Thank you. I'll be back." I passed Gen on my way out the door.

The warm sun calmed me further, and made my determination to speak matters with Zero even greater. The smell of the warm bread the baker was making down the street wafted past me, making me realize that, despite the magical beings in town, everything was still going on the same. I began to think: how many that walked among us were actually mythical creatures and that we're too dense to notice the difference? I noticed that some of the people in the Inn before were standing across the street, watching me and whispering to each other.

I hoped for a moment that Zero's plan would involve making things right--either that, or take me away to some far off land, away from the hurtful whispers.

I rounded the corner of the house at the end of the walk-way, the center area of the town directly in my view. Just as Iskim had said, Zero was standing under the tree that just yesterday I had told Gen about him.

He was staring into the distance, letting the light breeze ruffle his clothes into waves. The rims under his eyes seemed darker, and I wondered idly to myself if he was thinking of dragon things, recognizing that dark look from when he showed me his ability to grow wings even as a human. As I approached, he turned to me slowly, not even changing his expression that he had had when gazing at the distant mountains.

I merely stood in front of him, staring up into his face. He was much taller than I remembered; he was a good foot taller than I was. I didn't say anything, but I asked the question with my gaze, and I knew that he understood.

Instead of answering my questions, though, he held out his arm to me. "Shall we take a walk?" His golden eyes slightly darkened, and I smiled lightly and accepted his arm, placing my hand among it. At least he knew how to be a gentlemanly human. With my hold on him, he swept us to the left, leading us to the town gate. The guards only gave us a passing glance as we walked through the large gate, heading down the dirt path.

Once we were under the shade of the forest's trees and out of the view of the watch-tower guards, Zero suddenly yanked me up onto his back. Before I could ask, he was running through the thick foliage of the forest, much faster than what I was used to. The trees flew by us in a blur, and I was surprised that he held the branches in his way just long enough so that they wouldn't smack into me. The thudding of his feet on the ground suddenly made me queasy, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into the crook of his neck.

He was _too_ warm. Almost burning. I couldn't tell if it was blush that warmed my cheek so hotly, or if it was just the contact of his skin. He smelt like damp meadow grass, or the soaps that Gen bought off of a traveling merchant. I noticed that the thudding of his feet had stopped and the wind around us stilled. The sun was warm on my head, and I could hear small birds chirping happily.

I lifted my head slowly, and as soon as I was able to tell which way was up, Zero let me drop to my feet.

"What's with running so far into the forest?" I asked nonchalantly.

Zero smirked. "I didn't want to be followed."

I stared at him for a minute. "Would someone _really_ follow us into the forest, Zero?"

"Of course." Zero sat down on the ground. "You saw how excited everyone was, right?"

I assessed my surrounding, realizing we were in a small meadow, about the size of an Inn room. There was a fallen tree to my right, and a large boulder breached through the ground next to where Zero had sat.

"None of them had looked _that _excited," I pointed out, taking my seat on the fallen tree. It was rough and jagged under me, and I shifted uncomfortably. He didn't say anything in return to that statement, studying the tree tops above us.

"Thanks for bandaging that scratch," Zero hummed. He made a face. "I don't like the smell of your blood." That almost shocked me, but in a way, I almost expected it from someone like him.

"So," I breathed. "What's the plan?'

"What?"Zero smirked at me. "Do you not believe me when I say that I want to marry you?"

My gut tightened for a minute, but I definitely shook my head. "No, I don't."

Zero laughed. "Then, I have to give you credit for being smart."

"What's your plan?"

Zero turned to me fully, twisting his body around to face me. He smiled up at me. "Before I tell you the plan, I have to give you information." I folded my hands in my lap, and stared at him expectantly. "Remember when you asked me what a shudder was, and I told you that I would someday tell you?" I nodded. He smirked wider for a moment, then let it fall. "Well, today's the day."

Zero stretched his long legs out in front of him, and he leaned back onto his hands. "Dragon's are mythical creatures," he started after a sigh. "So when a dragon dies, it goes through a period where it's trying to save itself with it's own magic. That's what a shudder is.

"You can tell when a dragon is going through a shudder because, first of all, they become deathly cold, and I'm not meaning that they become mean and evil--they literally become as cold as ice. Then, once that happens, our bodies temperament system will use magic to try and warm us up, which our body won't register because it's so cold that we can't feel anything in the first place. Inevitably, dragon's end up killing themselves trying to save themselves. There is no way to stop a dragon from shuddering." He paused for a moment, looking me straight in the eyes. Although uncomfortable at his gaze, I didn't look away.

He continued slowly. "However, you _can _stop an _orb bearer_ from shuddering, and that's where you come in, my dear Alys."

I let the information process in my head before I responded. "So, wait, what's an orb bearer?" I pictured a dragon who made orbs for a living, and it almost brought a smile to my face.

"An orb bearer is a special kind of dragon that contains a mystical orb that has an unknown range of magical power. In the whole world, there is only 5 orb bearers." He lifted his chin. "And I am one of them." Unable to react to that, I just stared at him with wide, interested, eyes. "I am the Black orb bearer, my name is Selendrile." He paused, smirked, and said, "Or Zero, as you put it."

"The others?" I was surprised my voice worked.

"The Blue Orb Bearer is Sadakiyo, who is from the distant lands to the east. The Green Orb Bearer is Alastar from Ireland. The Red Orb Bearer is Urie, and she is from England." He chuckled, as if remembering something funny. "She is the orb bearer that I've known for all my days, since I hail from England as well. The White Orb Bearer, the last one, is Lothar, and he's from a land called France." I had no clue as to which these lands he talked about were real or not. It just went to show that I didn't know the world as well as he did.

"So this journey will take me away from home, then?"

Zero looked taken aback, like he was shocked that I would ask such a question. "Of course it will--that is why I have proposed marriage."

"Where do I come into the picture? And more importantly, why _me_?"

Zero fell silent for a moment, as if he was trying to come up with words to explain to me. "A human who helps an Orb Bearers is commonly known as a 'warmth'."

"'Commonly' known?" I raised my eye brow quizzically.

Zero smiled broadly. "Amongst dragons, that is."

"Okay, why a warmth?"

"Because you give us warmth." Zero shrugged at me in a mocking way. "I thought it was quite self-explanatory."

I tilted my head to show him that I was still confused. "But why can't a human help a 'normal' dragon, so to speak, from a shudder?"

"Orb Bearers have their orbs. Remember, I said that normal dragons can't feel anything _physically_--it just doesn't work like that, they're too cold. However, with an orb in play, a human can reach a dragon spiritually, and there is where we can feel your warmth."

I remembered the feel of his hot skin against mine, and I unintentionally touched my cheek. My fingers weren't near as hot as his, so how could that work? "But, my body temperature is so much less than yours--how does that work?"

"Any warmth will do, Alys. It matters not at how small or how much."

"So." I looked up at him through my eye-lashes shyly. "Why me?"

Zero smirked, and looked up at the sky. "It's simple," he stated. "I chose you all those years ago when you were young, at the water know who and what I really am, Alys. Even with that knowledge, you still aren't afraid of me. _That's_the kind of characteristics that Orb Bearers look for in a warmth." Zero smirked. "Besides, all the other Orb Bearers have extremely beautiful warmths--I wanted to try and beat them in that."

I blushed at the compliment--or was it and insult?-- and asked another question that niggled in my mind. "How could you have thought that back when I was so very young? You had no idea if I would turn out pretty or not."

Zero chuckled, then stood up in a lithe movement. "I have an eye for beauty." I stood up too, standing directly in front of him, a little too close for comfort.

"I bet you were surprised to see me all grown up after all these years," I mused, taking a step back from him to look him in the eyes.

"Not really," Zero corrected. "Humans change fast. And anyways, I've been here the whole time watching you."

_That_ took a moment to sink in. "The _whole_ time?" I whispered in shock, my eye widening as I realized the extremity of it.

Zero smiled his breathtaking smile, letting his beautiful eyes lighten with amusement. "From the day you've arrived in Stuttgrad to this very day."

I took a moment to try and regain my composure, but I couldn't seem to grasp it. He had been near all those six years, just watching and waiting for the day when he felt it right to begin this quest. "But I,"I stammered. "I never saw _you_ anywhere."

"Of course you did," Zero said. "You just never recognized me." He tapped his chin,closing one eye in a thinking gesture. He suddenly remembered what he was grasping to recall and pointed at me. "Remember that time you went for a walk in the forest and a cute, little squirrel ran up to your feet?"

I recalled the day suddenly, remembering that Gen and I had went through the woods in order to find an herb for Iskim. I could only vaguely recall the squirrel, which had indeed been cute. "_You_ were that squirrel?!" I asked in astonishment.

Zero gave me and odd look. "No, I wasn't the squirrel, but I _was_ the little hummingbird that you saw when you watched the squirrel run up the tree."

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't remember seeing a hummingbird. "I don't recall the bird," I mumbled.

"Oh." He actually sounded disappointed. "Well, that was me, nonetheless."

"Were you there _all_ the time, no matter where I was?"

"Of course not. I took breaks every now and again." He smirked. "I was just around enough to watch that short, cropped hair of yours grow out to curl around your waist instead of your face. Enough to watch those dark, blue eyes of yours mature up, enough to watch you grow well over two feet." His eyes raked my body again. "_And_enough to watch those breasts of yours to pop out around the age of 16." Zero smirked. "You were so happy to actually have a figure for once." That was indeed true: I had been extremely happy to finally have more than what I small boys chest would look like, but it was embarrassing that he had to know that.

"Well, _thanks _for noticing!" I snapped, throwing my arms around my upper body and turning away from him on my heel.

Zero chuckled, then I heard him sigh. I looked over my shoulder stiffly, and he was running his hand through his thick, dark hair. "Now we come down to the plan, Alys. Care to listen?"

I pouted slightly before nodding and turning towards him again.

"The plan is that you say you agreed to marry me when we get back to the village." My stomach still tightened at the word. "When Iskim hands you over to me, I'll say that I want us to get married in the Grand Chapel in the Imperial City that's across the mountain ranges to the North. You'll say your goodbyes, and then we'll start this business."

"Which is?"

"To collect the other orbs, to receive that final wish. It may take a long time, but I'm willing, and I need your consent to start this soon-to-be rigorous adventure."

I stared sadly at my feet, realizing that I would have to leave all that I loved behind--again. "I guess I have to accept your offer then, right?" I looked up at him, and he was smiling softly, comfortingly. "I mean, you did save my life at least two times."

"That I have. Besides..."Zero trailed off, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "You're probably the only human that I trust enough to do this." I rubbed the back of his head.

I smiled lightly, about to say yes, but an inner conflict interrupted me.

_You'll probably never live to see Gen or Iskim again._

_You'll probably never marry or have kids._

_No good can come out of helping a fey creature._

But whether or not that I would never see Gen or Iskim again, never have a husband or children, nor good luck because of my sins, I owed Zero my life.

So my life was his.

For whatever he wished.

"I'll do it," I whispered, looking up into Zero's eyes, which were placidly beautiful. "I'll go with you."

We said nothing more as I climbed back onto his back and as he dashed through the forest. When we reached the path, he reached his hand out to me, and I hesitantly took it into mine, steeling myself for what was sure to be panic when I told Iskim about my acceptance to this so called marriage. I had a feeling that he would see through me, and know that something was up. I went through the explanation in my head several times, making sure that it would all make sense. Hopefully, Zero would do most of the talking.

Zero's warm fingers intertwined with mine, giving me a soft squeeze of reassurance, and he towed me beside him as we walked towards the town's gate.

* * *

**_Ah, pretend marriages.  
So cliched, right? Sorry about that._**

**_Anyways, this chapter was probably my most favorite to write so far--I mean, once I started writing it, I almost didn't want to stop. It's fun to make up things that are extremely important to the whole story. Especially when it's your own story and you don't have to go by anything but the stuff you pull out of your own ass. :3 _**

**_Please review--spread the wholesome good love._**


	7. Chapter 7

**_So, yeah. Here's chapter seven. Yay!  
These past weeks/months have been very stressful on me. I guess it was bound to happen, but all of my closest friends got into a big fight just the other week. It was very, very devastating to me--I couldn't even _think_ about this story. But we worked everything out, so hopefully everything will be okay (I hope so!). Well, I could gush on about my school life, but I don't think you want to hear it--you all have your own lives anyways.  
I love reviews. I love to know what every single one of you is thinking of my story! However, I'll say this, and I'll only say it ONCE:  
This is my own REMAKE of 'Dragon's Bait'. In other words, what I'm trying to say is is that of course there will be things different in this story--I wanted it to seem like it was my own story instead of a fan-fiction (even though I absolutly ADORE 'Dragon's Bait.') _That's_ why Zero's name is Zero, although I put it in there that his real name WAS Selendrile. That's why Zero is a _black_ dragon instead of a gold one. The changes are how I express myself through my own words.  
Whoo.  
I needed to get that out of my system for a while now! :3 Please, take no offense--I absolutly understand if the changes are too much for you and you can complain about it IF you wish. However, after this, I will never assess the questions or complaints again. I have explained myself. :|_**

Please enjoy this new chapter of 'Black Shudder'!

**_Thanks to those who have reviewed:  
Killer Zebra  
AiDeeKay  
mydirt09  
Messedup2012  
Kita Tisharoo  
Nana nana booboo  
_Lin-isfallingupthesky  
imaginedreams22  
clara954**

**_Wow, it's like an all time record. :3 THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!_**

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

Neither Gen nor Iskim were in the common room when Zero and I walked in, still hand in hand. I had carefully dodged all the stares and whispers on the way to the Inn, keeping my gaze down from their hurtful gazes.

"Where could they be at?" I wondered aloud, looking around the room. There were only a few people in the room, all of them sitting at one table. None of them gave us more than a look of curiosity before returning to their conversation.

Zero, who had stayed silent since we were in the forest, nodded his head up the stairs. "They're on the second floor."

I glanced at him, ready to ask how he knew that, but I stopped myself short, noticing the rims of his eyes had darkened again. Instead of asking him, I let him lead me towards the stairs, allowing him to gently take some of my weight with every step. At the top of the stairs, the door farthest to the left, which was Iskim's room, opened, and both of my 'family' members walked out. They stopped talking when they saw Zero and me, and I noticed painfully that both of their stares landed on our hands intertwined together. It was almost enough to make me flinch.

But, I held my head high, and I cleared my throat. "Iskim, Gen," I started calmly, making both of their gazes meet mine, "I have some news for both of you." Gen looked at Zero with wide, admiring eyes, while Iskim just stared at me sadly, probably already knowing what I was going to say. I sighed. "I have agreed to Zero's proposal," I bluntly said. I found it that I couldn't make myself say 'marriage', so I left it out. Also, it made it so I wasn't really lying to either of them, but I wasn't exactly telling the whole truth either. I felt as though I couldn't lie to them--they had given me so much.

Gen smiled broadly at me, squeaking under her breath before tucking me into her arms, pulling me away from Zero.

"I'm so happy for you!" She mused through her wide lips. "I can _wait_ to see you in that chapel next to him!"

I felt my face drain at her words, and I laughed nervously. I pushed away from her tight embrace, noticing that Zero and Iskim were talking quietly amongst themselves, nodding and whispering solemnly. Zero caught my gaze, stopped whispering whatever he was saying, and smiled lightly at me. Iskim did the same, turning to look at me.

"I'm afraid it's not going to work like that Gen," I said, holding her hands in mine. "You see, Zero has business in the Imperial City and he thinks it most convenient to get the rights there."

Gen's happy smile only faltered for a moment. "Then you have to promise to visit me as soon as you are with child!"

My cheeks exploded with heat and I shifted my eyes uncomfortably. I could almost hear Zero smirking at me in that way of his.

"It's a promise, then?" Iskim was suddenly standing next to me, a comforting smile spreading his lips. "You'll visit every now and again, right?"

Despite the smile he output, I could see through his facade, could see the hurt beneath his brown eyes. "Iskim--" I started in a whisper.

"No, it's fine." He tousled my hair with his large, worn hand and gave me a light pat on the back. "It was I who was trying so hard to find you a husband. Besides--" his eyes oddly flickered "-- Zero could really use you."

I sighed, feeling a deep anguish and hurt for having to lie to the only family that I had left. Maybe risking it all just to help a dragon wouldn't be worth it.

Maybe I should've declined at the last moment.

But I didn't. I merely smiled at Iskim, and thanked him.

Zero stepped in then. "Alys and I will set out as soon as possible--the shipment in the Imperial City won't wait for me. I am terribly sorry for taking her away so quickly, but could you say your goodbyes so she can pack and we can be on our way?"

It surprised me how he could make the rudest lie sound so sincere and innocent. Gen seemed surprised at the fact that I was leaving within three hours, while Iskim's sullen expression deepened.

"So soon," Gen murmured. "Can't you stay for supper?"

I glanced at Zero, giving him a pleading look to find a way that I could stay--one last meal with my family. But he flicked his eyes at me in a way that I knew he was saying he had more suitable, more sufficient plans.

"No," I sighed sadly. "The shipment leaves in only three days-- if we stayed here more than we needed to, the shipment wouldn't pass through and Zero's business would plummet." Gen took that explanation in silence, but pulled me into another hug.

"Everything's happening so quickly these days," she whispered to me. "I'm scared that I might lose hold of it all."

I closed my eyes and hugged her. "I'm scared too, Gen."

Gen let me go, and I turned immediately to Iskim, who gave me a rough but very quick hug. He tousled my hair again, grinning at me. I couldn't help but smile back at him—his smiles always did that to me. He kissed my forehead, and then led Gen downstairs.

I stood alone in the hall with Zero for a moment. We said nothing, and for a minute, that was a comfort. Soon, however, he moved next to me, nudging my arm lightly with his.

"You should go get packed." He leaned against the wall, folding his sturdy arms. He glanced up at me through his dark lashes. "I'll wait for you here."

With nothing more than a nod to acknowledge his words, I slipped into my room for what would most likely be the last time for a long while. I gathered my nightgown, another day dress, and a pair of slippers that I hardly wore anymore. I decided that I could live without a comb or mirror—Gen would need them more than I would. Reaching under my cot, I retrieve a small box that had grown a layer of dust on it since the last time I had pulled it out. I slowly lifted the lid, revealing the small treasures that I had inside.

One of the treasures was an oddly shaped rock with no special physical features to it. I smiled as I held it in my palm, remembering that it was this rock that Gen and I had thrown into the old hag's window across the street three years ago. She had said something about how Gen and I were hell-bringers. So we decided we would show her exactly what a hell-bringer was.

The other object was a small, broken chain. Iskim had given it to me when I was thirteen. He said that it would bring me good luck. At the time, it had been a pretty necklace. But it rusted that spring and then snapped in one place the next summer. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away, so I simply kept it in safe keeping.

At the bottom of the box, folded neatly, was a torn, dirty and tan tunic. I told myself the reason I kept it was to prove the fact that Zero was actually real, that the dragon wasn't just a figment of my imagination. But I knew somewhere inside of me that the real reason that I had kept it was because it was the only thing I had left from my life in St. Careloon.

And now, I was about to leave it all behind once again.

It was hard for me to allow it, but I started to cry. Only a little—the real tear flow wasn't meant for now. Sniffing, I rubbed at my damp eyes, brushing away the falling tears on my cheeks.

I felt a shadow loom over me. I looked up, then immediately down to rub more furiously at my eyes and face. Zero towered over me, his arms folded, his jaw set, his eyes narrowed. Once my face was dry, I dared another look up at him. Ashamed, I nervously twiddled my fingers together. I didn't want him to think that he was _forcing_ me to do this.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." His face never shifted from its dark intent. "I won't hold anything against you. All you have to do is tell me to go away and I will."

"But you won't," I whispered, looking down at my folded hands. "You'll still be in _my_ mind, no matter how far you go. It's not as simple as saying 'go away' anymore." I closed my eyes and then sighed quietly. "I think about it every day—the ways you saved me, that is. I can still see it, St. Careloon with Daiken and Mistress and old Margret. But I can also see the destruction, the cold eyes looking back at me. I can still see the dead bodies of everyone I loved around me, and there was _nothing_ I could do. I felt so helpless, so guilty." I looked up at him, setting a determined look upon my face. "I want to be able to do something. I want to change someone's life like you did mine."

I was crying again by the time I finished my speech. I bubbled out noises that I had only heard babies make, and it was almost embarrassing.

Then his warm fingers brushed at my cheeks, cupping away the wetness. Without changing his expression, he murmured "If you're so set on this, then you mustn't cry. Not in front of me."

I tilted my head at him, confused. "Why can I not? Do you get sad in return?" I finished brushing my tears away and Zero took a step back.

"No, of course I don't. Humans just look absolutely pathetic when they cry—their faces get all scrunched up."

I felt a wave of annoyance. "Well, I bet you do _too_."

Zero smirked at me suddenly. "I can't cry, Alys." I was taken aback by that, and didn't even try to hide my shock. "Well," he amended after a moment. "It's not that I _can't_, it's just that I choose _not_ to."

"Sometimes you can't choose," I argued.

"You can if you make a conscious effort. In that point, you can do _any_thing you wanted to if you put your mind to it."

I pouted at him. "That can't be the only reason you don't like to see people cry—you're not telling me everything."

He smiled lightly. "Of course I'm not." He looked down into my lap, gazing over the box. "Is this all that you're taking?"

I glanced down then quickly closed the cover, lest he noticed that it was the very same tunic that he wore six years ago. "Oh, no, I was just reminiscing."

"Of course. Just like a human." I ignored that last comment and shoved the box back under the bed. Standing up, I grabbed what little things I had and held them to my chest.

Zero raised a brow at me. "Is _this_ all you're bringing?"

I nodded. "It's not like I have much anyways." I could imagine him sighing, but he gave no emotion on that sturdy face of his.

"Okay. You ready to go?"

I looked down at my feet again, suddenly so unsure about my decision. "Why must we leave so early in the day, Zero? And don't give me the 'shipment' nonsense!"

"We need the time to reach a resting place for tonight—it takes about half a day on foot."

I considered for a moment then replied "Won't we be flying?"

Zero shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous to be flying openly around these parts—there are more and more men on the hunt for dragons. You see, we must be careful; if we caution ourselves over time, it'll make the journey that much quicker." Zero reached over and pulled my clothing and such from my arms and tucked it under one of his. "Now can we please go?"

"Do you think it's easy for me to just up and leave?" I growled at him in a whisper, feeling anger bubble up in me once more. "I can't just 'go'. It's not that simple!"

"Not from my point of view." Zero made a step towards the door.

"We have different point of views, Zero. Can't you at least respect that?"

He stopped in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder to meet my gaze. "Do understand, Alys that this is how I show my respect. And understand that I'm a dragon and I see and think of things differently than humans do." Zero threw me an unknown look. "Trusting you is respect enough in my book." He turned away, vanishing out the door. "I'll be waiting downstairs. Finish whatever you need so that you may just 'go'."

I sat in silent fury for a moment, then let it release in a sigh. _This is going to be a long trip_, I thought to myself.

I didn't even know the half of it.

I forced myself to calm down before I went downstairs. Rel was standing with Gen, Iskim and Zero now. When he saw me, he gave me the biggest bear hug and offered his congratulations for my marriage. A few other people around at the tables commented on how they were happy as well.

I smiled. I nodded. And I laughed. I did all the things a woman who was marrying a handsome man was supposed to do. I hugged Gen and Iskim goodbye again and thanked them for dealing with me the past six years. I promised Gen, that whenever it was to happen, I would visit her when I was with child. Iskim promised me he would try as hard as he could to get a hold of me if something big happened. I waved goodbye with a large smile on my face, swinging my connected hand with Zero's in-between us.

The goodbyes and the cheers faded out once we walked into the forest.

I didn't cry again—even though I wanted to.

But Zero needed my strength. Besides, I didn't want to make him upset again.

He dropped my hand before I did his, and for some odd reason, it scared me to lose his warmth. I felt so insecure, so unsure. It suddenly felt like the ground beneath me was falling away. Although afraid, and didn't panic. I carefully made a conscious effort to stand firmly on the ground for a second to prove to myself that it was truly there. Instead of shivering like I wanted to, I glanced around at the trees above me. The sun was in the middle of the sky, and a small bird fluttered just above the tree branches.

"Exactly how far away is this 'resting' point of yours?"

"Five, maybe ten miles." Zero shrugged."It's not like I keep track." Zero stopped suddenly, almost making me run into him. Before I could ask what was wrong, he loudly sniffed the air, groaned, then continued walking.

"What?" I asked. "What was that all about?"

"It's going to rain before night-fall," he offered. "We need to be much hastier than I first thought."

"We have to go _faster_?" I complained, already feeling the wariness of walking building itself up.

Zero shot me a narrowed glance at my tone. "Unless you want to get soaked to the bone, get sick and die painfully and slowly because I won't help since it was your own ignorance that cause your death that is."

I suddenly realized he was right, and quickened my pace with his. He eyes had gotten darker again, and he seemed intent on the trail ahead of us. I was suddenly worried as to why he was so concerned all of a sudden.

Zero only allowed me to rest once the whole entire day of traveling. We had been walking at such a fast pace that I began to become more weary after a short period of time. It was taking more time to hurry than it would have to have stayed at a more comfortable pace. What slowed us down more was the fact that he said that we had to go off trail a mile or so away from the village.

He wasn't impatient though. He was actually very supportive, giving me claims like 'you can do it' and 'it's only a little further now, just hold on.' I knew he was getting irritated though by the time the sun was setting, although he was very good at hiding it within himself. Despite his good attitude and helping hand, I became quite cross with him. I didn't understand why he was in such a big hurry, and it peeved me a little that he wouldn't tell me why.

I had to admit though—he was right about the rain part. The dark, billowing clouds rolled up in the eastern sky, mists floating under them indicating rain. What concerned me, though, was that we were headed right for them.

"Shouldn't we be _slowing_ our pace?" I asked him between my quick breaths. "We're rushing right into the storm."

"It's only a little further now," Zero said, _his_ breathing totally normal. "And I mean that this time."

I huffed loudly. "You were _lying_ all the _other_ times then?"

Zero flashed me a quick, malicious grin. "Perhaps."

I wasn't in the mood for his attitude, nor was I in the mood for rain. "Can we just slow down _a little_?"

Zero shook his head. "No, we'll get there faster if we pick up the pace."

I could even smell the rain now. The dark clouds were soon looming over us, threatening to pour. A cold, sharp breeze whooshed past us and I unintentionally shivered. We climbed a tall hill that was steep enough to make my legs ache and my lungs burn to climb it. There was a thick spot of trees that surrounded the base of the hill, and, to my utter surprise, there was a small worn trail that could be easily seen twisting around the trees. When we breached through the section of the trees, my legs almost gave away under me when Zero decided that he was going to help me the rest of the way. He grabbed me by my elbow, pulling me up the hill with him.

"Hey, watch it!" I snapped at him when he gripped at my arm to hard to pull me up straight. I couldn't stay mad at him for too long, for I was abruptly amazed and I gasped aloud.

Below me lay the most beautiful land that I had ever seen. On the descent of the hill, there was a large, open valley, completely surrounded by hills and trees. A river or two flowed through the thick forest and branched out within the valley. Coniferous trees dotted themselves throughout the valley, while one or two very large oak trees swayed in the breezes rolling off of the hills dance through the low valley. Even from the height that I was at above the isolated meadow, I could tell there were many wildflowers the inhabited the waving meadow grass. The barely seeable path winded down the hill side, entering the ring of trees through a small arch through the branches.

It seemed that life and time didn't and _couldn't_ reach this place.

"Wh-where's this?" I asked breathlessly.

Zero turned to me and assessed my expression before smiling warmly.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He whispered it so low that I almost couldn't hear it. He stood next to me, close enough that I could feel his warmth radiating off of him. "You've been sheltered all of your life, Alys. Just because there is an idiotic war going on doesn't mean that there isn't peace somewhere in the world."

I shook my head slowly. "But it doesn't make any sense that the flames from the war couldn't scorch this place." I studied the valley below me again, still in awe. "It's like it's an untouched heaven." Zero walked in front of me, making my awe-inspired gaze land on him.

"Neither of them are true," he said with a small smile, no true feelings behind the curved lips. "Fey creatures can't touch heaven. Besides, and old man used to live here ten years ago." He pointed down into the valley. "Look there."

Taking a moment to find the exact point of where he pointed, I did notice the small hut. The roof had a small black dot on the roof, indicating that there was a hole in the roof.

I recalled the dark clouds brewing above us. "You don't think he would have minded if we used his house, do you?"

Zero shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. I use it all the time anyways, so I don't see how it matters."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "What does a _dragon_ do with a _human_ house?"

Zero spread out his arms, gesturing to the whole valley. "You said so yourself—this place seems like it doesn't even exist. It's a perfect place to lay low for a while."

"This place is so far from a town, or humans for that matter. Why would some old man live out here?"

Zero smiled and shrugged innocently. "For the same reason you can't believe it's real—the war hasn't touched this place." Zero started down the overgrown path. "That's all that some people wish for. We all want some peace and quiet."

I folded my hands together. "But to distance your-self from all living life…"I closed my eyes momentarily and then looked up to meet Zero's gaze. "It doesn't seem like it would solve anything—it doesn't help you any more than it would hurt you."

Zero was silent for a minute or so and when he turned back to me, a deep emotion played his face.

"No one can get out of life, which includes dying. And no one can escape death. Those who run have to pay the consequences, whether it be death," Zero turned away, "or complete loneliness. The only way to overcome death is to overcome love and desire." He stopped in the path, his head bowed. "And not even magical fey creatures can overcome something as trivial as love and desire."

I took his words in silence, and even if I wanted to answer, the words wouldn't have come out of my mouth.

"I want to see it too." I looked up at him as he spoke slowly, lowly. "I want to see what kind of a world there is without hatred and distrust."

I liked the fact that I was seeing a side of Zero that I had never seen before—his vulnerable side. But I didn't like the words he spoke, for they confused me even if they were all the very same words that I had thought to myself over and over again. It didn't make any sense that he should understand how I felt.

"But even those are things we can't fight," I mused. "We all hate, and at some point we all feel jealousy."

Zero turned to study me. We didn't say anything for what seemed like forever. We simply stared into each-other's eyes solemnly.

"There are few things that I'm afraid of," Zero started quietly, looking away from me. "But that's why hoping and dreaming is one of my biggest fears." Watching Zero struggle for words almost made me want to cry. I wanted to take away this lax side of Zero, I wanted him to return back to the composed Zero that I knew very well. I didn't like it when he was a stranger.

"Zero, I—"

Something hit my head. It was wet when I reached up to touch it, then another something hit my hand. Before too long, I realized that it was raining. And it wasn't just a small drizzle; no, it had to be a _downpour_. I was soaked within a couple of seconds.

Zero wiped away streaks of water from his face before waving down the trail. "Come on, we'll find shelter under the trees." We quickly ran under the small hut that the trees thick canvas provided for us.

"Be careful now," Zero said to me. "I don't need you tripping over a stick or something and breaking your fragile little head open."

I nodded in silent agreement, hugging myself tightly to keep some of the warm in, too shaken to become mad about his subtle threat.

We didn't say anything more about fears and dreams. In a way, I was kind of relieved. When I thought about it, truthfully, I didn't want to know _any_ way to be able to hurt Zero.

* * *

**_Pretty exciting, I know._**

**_I used this chapter to show that, despte how he might act in future chapters, Zero really does have good intentions for sweeping Alys away from her family.  
Maybe next chapter will show a little more romance between them...I've already been having some great ideas!_**

**_I'm truly sorry--this chapter was hastilly written. It could've been so much better! If I keep this up, I might end up actually hurting the story! D: NO!!_**

**_Thanks!_**

**_Also, what do you all think about Zero's hatred for tears???_**

**_Please review and Stay in touch!_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**A.N.: Hello. How's everyone? Good I hope.  
My birthday was two days ago, so this was sort of a birthday present for myself. :3**_

This chapter was able to come out much quicker than normal because I'm really getting into my story. This is the first chapter in a long, LONG time that I actually considered before hand and took time to write it and re-read it. AND this is officially the longest chapter that I have written, but only a bit longer! :D AH! I love this story!!!  
*Ahem.* Anyways, when I wanted to work on this last week, though, I got distracted watching 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.' GOD, I haven't watched that movie since I was--what?--five years old? I loved it. It gives me that happy feeling inside. :3 Oh, and I was surprised when this chapter got done today because I've been spending most of my time reading manga (Japanese comics) online, and among those is one called 'Hapi Mari', 'Faster than a Kiss', and 'Kindan no Koi de Ikou'. That last one is about this girl falling in love with a wolf who can use the power of the moon to turn into a human (NOT a werewolf), and I really relate it to this story with the whole 'Zero's a dragon and Alys is a human'. It's one of my FAVORITE!

**Anyways, this chapter was written to make up more of a romance base for these two. Although I plan to get down to business in the chapter after Chapter nine, I wanted to go off sort of on a 'Filler Episode' if you will. :3 Lots of shows do that, so why can't I?**

**Thanks to those who've reviewed!:**  
**clara954**  
**MessedUp2012**  
**AiDeeKay**

* * *

Chapter 8

I was surprised that the hut's front door didn't fall off as Zero pushed it open. The hinges squeaked so loudly that the noise cut through the patter of the rain.

The hut wasn't exactly luxurious--you could tell no one had lived there for a while. There was a broken chair missing three legs thrown in the middle of the room, and there were patches of straw strewn about the entire room. On the far end, there was an unbalanced table that had a tipped vase with wilted flowers upon it. One chair was pushed in under the wooden-table. Above that table was the only window that was in the room that had crippled shutters that seemed to never be able to work again. Across from the window on the opposite wall was a stone hearth, ash-filled, cold and dusty.

After putting my bag next on the floor, Zero immediately moved to a door to the right of the hearth and disappeared through it. I tried to shut the front door behind me, but it wouldn't seem to fit right into the latch, so I left it slightly ajar. Feeling the rain in my hair trickle down the back of my skull, I lightly shook my head to shake away the eerie feeling. Slowly, I wandered to the middle of the room, gazing all about the run down cottage. I noticed the remains of a kitchen area to the right of the front door--a wash-tub and a few broken dishes among roughly gouged table tops. Suddenly realizing how hungry I was, and I started to look around the kitchen area to find any remanate of food.

"Here." Something soft hit the back of my head and fell to the floor. I turned around and looked down at it-- a small blanket that looked like it hadn't been washed in many years. I gave Zero a look that asked what it was for. He was carrying an armload of broken wood, probably from some broken furniture in the other room. "Dry yourself with it," he explained. "I don't want you to get sick or anything."

"Oh." I picked up the dirty blanket, gingerly feeling it with my cold fingertips. "Thanks." Once I decided that it wasn't going to hurt me if I used it, I put it on my head and gently patted away the dampness. Zero threw the wood that he had into the cold hearth and strolled about the room picking up some of the stray straw scattered across the room, to which he added as I suspected kindling for a fire he was going to build.

Once I felt drier and a little bit warmer, I held out the blanket towards Zero, who was kneeling down in front of the hearth. "Do you need to dry off?" I offered.

Zero shook his head. "No." He seemed intent of adjusting the straw just right among the wood, poking some small tuffs into place.

"Well, I'll just set it here if you change your mind." I put the blanket in a heap next to the hearth. Zero disregarded my words, focusing on the position of the wood now. I watched him for a moment, and then he raised his hand up to his mouth as if he were whispering to the hearth. He sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment. Right when I was about to ask him what he was doing, he let his breath blow out through his narrowed lips. But it wasn't normal air. It surprised me and I wasn't even sure if I was seeing things correctly. I bright, orange flame flicked from between his lips, bursting the wood and straw in the hearth into flames. Shocked, I gasped and took a step back realizing that he was actually _breathing fire_!

Just as quickly as he had breathed fire, he dropped his hand, opened his "o" shaped mouth wider into a smirk, and the flames withered, flicked at the air then disappeared. I realized that he was smirking at _me_ as I met his gaze.

His gold eyes were locked on me, his smirk growing wider. The flame now miraculously in the hearth flicked its light onto his angled face, darkening his eyes and skin to a degree that it made me want to touch his face. "What's that look saying, Alys?"

I shook my head and spluttered out the first thing that came to my head. "D-doesn't that hurt your lips?"

Zero chuckled, standing from his knelt position on the wood floor. "Of course not. Do you forget that I'm a dragon?" The way he said it made me realize that he had indeed noticed my worshipful gaze at his face.

"No, of course not!" I stuttered as he walked towards the kitchen area. He only laughed again, and then began to open the cupboards and look around the area. "There's nothing," I said. "I've already checked."

He threw me a look suggesting that he had already known that. He closed the cupboard he had opened and moved to the window, gazing up at the pouring sky.

"Do you want to go hungry for the night, or shall I go get you something to eat?"

My stomach twisted at the mention of food. "Well, something in my tummy _would_ be nice."

"What are you hungry for?"

My stomach growled, making me blush."It's bad weather, Zero. I don't want you to go through all that trouble just to get me something to eat." Although I was hungry, I was sure that I could hold out until the circumstances were better.

I had to convince him with a long stare, and finally Zero shrugged. "Suit yourself." He went back to the hearth, folding his legs under him as he sat down. The room had grown dependent on the fires light, for it had darkened outside to the point where you couldn't see much out the window.

"It's not like I haven't eaten in days," I mused, then abruptly realized that I hadn't a thing to eat all day.

_No, _I thought_. I'll be fine_.

Convincing myself, I went to the table and pulled out the stool from under it.

"I wouldn't do--"

Before Zero could finish, my shrill scream cut him off and then I was laying in a heap on the floor, pieces of the broken chair beneath and all about me. There was a long silence, and I thought for a moment that I was injured and Zero was too shocked to do anything.

And then he was laughing. He threw his head back and let the deep, throaty laughs roll right out of his mouth. My cheeks pulsed with embarrassment, and I sat up quickly.

"It's not funny!" I screamed at him. "I could have been seriously injured!"

He was calming down from his loud, thrown laughs and dipping into composed chuckles. "You're face," he said through a grin. "It was just too funny!"

I pouted at him, not seeing the humor in any of it. "Don't laugh!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He chuckled again. "I tried to warn you, but as always, you're too rash!"

"How was I supposed to know the chair was sabotaged!?" I yelled at him, flustering again.

He laughed, his white teeth flashing in the light of the fire, then he snorted once, and then sighed with a smile. "Right, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

I growled at him, and threw a piece of the broken chair at him. He ducked before it could nail him in the face and the splintered wood hit the wall and bounced to the ground. "Hey now, "he said calmly. "None of this violence."

"You could at least _try_ to _sound_ sincere when you ask me that!" I scolded him. "It's not like I'm two years old, Mr. Dragon-who-lives-forever!"

"Hey." Zero smiled at me lightly. "Don't make me sound like an old man."

I stared at him coldly. "How old exactly are you?"

Zero tapped his chin in an innocent manor. "You know what; it must be one thousand and something now."

"Are you really!?" I squeaked, not even able to understand how someone could live for thousands of years.

Zero grinned, shaking his head. "I'm kidding; I'm only 279 years old."

"'Only two hundred....'" I trailed off, staring at him in bewilderment. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "I'm very serious."

"Is...is that young for a dragon?"

He held out his arms. "How old do I look?"

I avoided looking at the length of his body. "Um...around 19 or something."

"Then if you compared my dragon's age to my supposed human age, you'll find your answer."

I considered his logic, and realized that he actually _was_ pretty young, despite his years. "So, if I was a dragon, I'd almost be age old as you right?"

He thought about it, then shrugged smiling. "More or less."

I stared at him curiously. "Does it depend on something?"

Scratching at his chin, he stood up, walked over to me and offered me his hand. I allowed him to help me up from the broken mess of a chair. "It actually depends on what race of dragon you are."

"'Race'? Dragon's have different races?"

"Of course we do--you humans aren't the only ones you know."

"Does the race have to do with the certain color a dragon is?"

"No, thank the gods!" He suddenly seemed upset, and I was curious as to why he was. Before I could ask, though, lightening lit up the sky outside, flashing through the window behind me. The thunder roared soon after the flash died down, and it made me tremble visibly. A cold gust ran through the room, probably through the ajar front door. The pitter-patter of the rain on the roof worsened.

Zero was moving towards the door next to the hearth again. "It's going to be one hell of a storm--do you want to sleep by the fire tonight?"

I nodded vigorously, wrapping my arms around myself to ward off the cold. Zero disappeared into the dark room, and I collapsed in front of the fire. Zero came back into the room, carrying an armful of hay. He dropped in onto the floor behind me, spreading it out with his foot.

"My bed?" I asked, looking at it, then up at him. He nodded, then turned back to go into the other room. Suddenly curious about the room, I scrambled to my feet and walked to the door, daring a peek inside. The light of the fire barely lit the room up, but enough that I could make out objects. It was defiantly the bedroom of the house--there were two bed cots, heavily ruined from water damage and most likely rodents. The roof had a hole in it, rain drops falling through the opening and landing on the floor with a loud 'thunk' sound. Lightning flashed again, lighting up the dark room through a small window above the cots.

I could barely make out Zero pulling out a blanket from a chest in the corner. I heard him pat it off, and before he turned around, I made my way back to the fire, reaching my hands towards the warmth. He entered the room and immediately came towards me, the blanket held out in his out-stretched hand.

"Here--sorry it's dirty." The dim light made his eyes seem to be darkened, and I wondered idly if he was upset again.

"Thanks." I took the blanket from his hand and turned towards the spread out hay. I fanned the blanket onto it, pulling the edges out neatly. I looked around the room, then up at him. "Where are _you_ going to sleep tonight?"

He tilted his head. "Right here." He gestured to the bare floor.

I assessed the ground for a moment. "No straw or anything?"

He smiled in a sickenly sweet way. "Nope."

I sighed, and then lifted my arms above my head to stretch, feeling about every muscle in my body tense from the all-day walk and the crashing-with-chair episode. "I'm exhausted," I yawned through my fingers as I covered my mouth. "And I hurt."

Zero chuckled lowly, giving me a hint that he was making fun of me in that silent way of his. I threw him a look, but I wasn't in the mood to fight. I crawled under the blanket, brushing aside the slight pain of the straw poking me through my clothes. I tucked the blanket under my chin, and stared up at Zero.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Going to sleep?"

Hazily, I nodded. "It's been a long day for me."

Zero considered that answer and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too." He took his shirt off. I quickly told myself that it was no big deal--I had seen men without their tunics on.

But had I ever seen so much skin? I asked myself. Was there ever once in my entire life to see such sun-kissed skin dimpled from worked muscles? Such a strong neck? Such strong arms? Such a perfectly built abdomen?

I blinked, and looked up to his face. Luckily, he seemed preoccupied with scaling how large the room was, and couldn't have seen my wandering gaze. How easy it was to forget that he wasn't human....

Zero grunted in approval, then hooked his thumbs into his breeches and pulled them down his hips revealing not only the portion of a man's body that I knew but the part that I wasn't sure I _was_ ready to know.

I screamed immediately, and then quickly covered my eyes with the blanket.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!!?"

"Sleeping," he simply replied.

"That's _not_ what I meant!"

He didn't say anything, but I was too scared to peek out from under the blanket. There was a loud ripping sound, and even that fluttered into a silent lapse.

Even behind my closed eyes, the image of this dragon-mans' body kept appearing and not only was it indecent on my part, but I felt like my heart was about to burst through my chest. I opened my eyes to discard the picture, seeing the firelight peek slightly through the holes in the fabric.

"Zero?" I whispered. "Is is okay for me to look now?"

There was nothing that I could take as an answer, but I was still too afraid to look out from under the blanket. However, I built up enough courage after what seemed to be forever and I slowly, carefully looked out from under the old dirty quilt. What I saw almost, in a really strange way, surprised me. It was almost as if I had forgotten what Zero's real identity was. But of course, I remembered this figure.

It was the same black blob that I had somehow stumbled upon at my small water hole. And I knew that this very same blob was indeed a dragon that I had had dreams about since I had started to live in Stuttgrad. He had the same glistening black scales and the same enormous limbs. But what caught my attention was the fact that this dragon had the very same awe-inspiring, breathtaking, extraordinary, golden eyes. I felt like I could get lost in them, fall in to them forever and ever and I wouldn't even be scared because I know just who these eyes belongs to. And the one who had these eyes was a man that I truly and sincerely trusted.

I trusted Zero.

"Why is it that you are not afraid to show me yourself in this form?"

Of course, he didn't answer, and in a way, I didn't really want him to. I like to give myself an answer, to convince myself that he needed me in the same way that I needed him.

"I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me warning next time before you go and get nude like that. Since you have watched me all these years, you should know that I have never even seen a man naked before."

He grinned at me, and I suspected that he was laughing at me too. He curled his head near his stomach and wrapped his tail up around himself. The thunder rolled above us in the sky and I felt myself shiver once again. Instead of scolding the dragon youth like I wanted to, I decided to curl up into a ball myself, and buried myself under the blanket.

I watched the flickering flames until I felt my eyelids become heavy. Before I fully fell asleep, however, I slowly held out a 'good night, Zero.'

I sat up abruptly with a gasp, flailing to get the covers off of me. Somehow finding myself on my hands and knees, I managed to push myself off of the floor. Standing, I whipped my head around, assessing my surrounding.

_Right._ I let myself un-tense. _I'm not home anymore._

The sun was streaming through the window and onto my make-shift bed, which had led me to think that I was still asleep in my real bed at home and that the events that had happened in the past day were all a dream. But reality slipped its way into my consciousness. I yawned.

The fire in the hearth was simmering coals now, bright red even against the mornings light. The hut didn't look to shabby now that light filled the room warmly. The room looked much larger than it had, but then again, that might be simply a result of the absence of a certain large dragon.

_Where could he have gone to _this_ time?_ I checked the side room, and somehow opened the door, without if falling off, wide enough so that I could peek through. Zero didn't seem to be in the vincity of the area, so I wandered back to the middle of the room, next to my hay-bed. My stomach twisted quickly but violently, and a roll of nausea flooded me. _I hope he went to go find some food for me..._

Almost as if on que, I heard a loud roar above the cottage, and I figured that it had to be Zero, even if I had never heard him bellow out as a dragon. There was a loud 'thud', and the ground beneath me slightly shook. I was about to go rushing out of the cottage to greet him, but I was suddenly worried about how it might not be my dragon friend. Also, I remembered the cloth-less period between shape shifting for him. I realized that he might just walk in naked anyways since he thought I was asleep, so I quickly started humming and stomping unnecessarily around the room.

When Zero walked in, he swung the front door open with ease, allowing a breeze to rush throughout the room. At the moment, I was noisily humming and busying myself with folding the dirty blanket with my back to Zero.

"Morning," I heard him say, his foot-fall approaching.

"Ah, good morning." I considered my reasons, and then turned to him slowly.

To my relief, he was fully clothed, and also had a large pouch and a steaming bowl food.

Excited, I jumped up half-way through my folding and ran to him. "Is that food?" I asked with a smile.

He handed it out to me. "I was sure you were going to die, so I picked up something for you on my way back." It was nice warm stew with a variety of carrots, potatoes and meat, flakes of unknown spices floating on the surface.

I took it carefully from him, grinning. "Thank you! I was just wondering when the next time I'd eat was going to be!"

He didn't see the humor in my statement; at least I took that blank look on his face as that implication.

I didn't want to take the time to look for a spoon around the kitchen, since, even if I found one, it would most likely be dirty. Instead, I simply tilted the edge of the bowl to my lips and allowed everything to flow into my mouth freely.

"If you were _that_ hungry, you could have told me," Zero mocked, grinning at the way I slurped my food. With a full mouth, I couldn't stick my tongue out, so I crinkled my nose at him and continued to eat.

Once I was finished with the bowl of food and my stomach was warm, happy, and full I acknowledged the quite large pouch he was carrying.

"What's this?" I asked, gesturing towards it as I sat the bowl on the table.

Zero tilted his head lightly and held it up. He lightly shook it, and a loud, crisp clinking noise echoed through the empty room.

_Money_, I realized as he sat the pouch on the table. "How much do you have?"

"Much, much more than what's in this bag," he said with a sly smirk. "However, this should last us a while, right?" He opened the strings that tied the bag shut, then tipped all off the contents inside onto the table. I gasped as I realized that a bulk of the money was gold—I had never even _seen_ a gold coin in my entire life! Even the few coins that weren't gold were silver coins, which were still rare indeed.

"Where did you…?" I trailed off, mesmerized.

"I have my hoard." I looked at him. He smirked. "My 'collection', I mean, sorry."

"This is _stolen_ money?"

Zero regarded my sharp tone and shrugged. "It wasn't like those fat, rich bastards didn't need any of it—they have plenty more even after I swept through."

"Stealing is wrong, though!" I scolded, shoving away all the money that rolled to my side of the table. "It doesn't matter the circumstances!"

"You ate that meal readily enough," he said, gesturing towards the empty bowl.

Astonished, I put my hand to my mouth in disgust. "That was also stolen food!?"

Zero smirked. "Like I said before, that fat bastard didn't need it."

"Ah!" I hit the bowl away now too, feeling sick to my stomach. "Not only was it stolen, but it was stolen from a _rich_ man! Zero, we could get killed for such things!"

The dragon waved me off. "Nonsense. They'll never know that it was me who stole their food and riches. And besides...." Zero put all of the gold and silver into the pouch again, hanging it at his waist on his rope belt. "I'm not going to let any man even so much as consider touching you when I'm around." I tried to look away from his gaze when I looked up to meet it, but I couldn't pull myself away. "You _are _my warmth, now, Alys. Know that I will protect you from anyone and everything that would threaten you."

I finally broke away from his stare, and looked at my folded hands.

"Thanks, I guess." I whispered, then looked up angrily. "But don't think that I'm not still upset about the whole 'stealing' thing. I still think it's very wrong and that God doesn't approve of it."

Zero chuckled. "Like God cares about what dragon's do. It's you humans that he's concerned about."

Before I could argue further, Zero swooped past me and finished folding the blanket that I had left unattended. Once he was done, he tucked it under his arm and used his foot to push the hay away from the hearth and into a pile next to the wall.

"We'll be leaving soon, so I suggest that you tend to yourself. We'll be flying today."

After a minute or so, I was tended to, dressed into my other gown and I used my finger to try to sort out the mess in my hair.

"Are we getting to the Imperial City today?" I couldn't hide my excitement from my voice. I had heard stories from Iskim about the Imperial City and I had always wanted to go and visit it.

"We could, but we're not." Zero took off his shirt and handed it to me. "We're stopping at a village about 25 miles from here. It will take little more than five minutes to get there." He took hold of his breeches. "Oh right." He looked up at me. "I'm getting naked now."

Blushing, I held his warm shirt to my face, hiding him from my sight.

"Here," he said. "Take these too." I blindly waved my hand in front of me. He chuckled lowly, then a warm hand gripped onto my wrist. I couldn't help but flinch at his touch, and a moment later, a cloth was pressed into my empty hand. Gripping onto it, I broke from his grasp and held his breeches to my chest.

All I could see was darkness, so I couldn't tell what the transformation looked like, but there was a loud ripping noise again then, soon after, a loud roar.

Before I could look up from the tunic, something hard and warm wrapped tightly around me, and then the ground dropped out from under me.

Screaming and panicking, I almost lost hold of the clothes in my arms. I fumbled around with them a moment, almost like playing catch with myself, until I got a firm hold of them and held them tightly to my chest.

A full view of the meadow was what was under me, the hut turning into a small dot against the green of the meadows. Then, the wind was stinging at my eyes, the land lurching to the beats of Zero's wings. I somehow managed to look up at him, gazing over his mighty chest and curving over his long neck. His golden eyes were focused intently on the sky before him, soaring into a updraft. The wind was cold despite the high morning sun. It must have been a result from the storm that had happened the night before. I could only hear the stretching tendons of his wings on either side of me, and I could only feel his warm and secure grip around my body. I closed my eyes, and bowed my head so my chin was buried in my chest.

After what seemed like forever, the snapping beat of his wings stopped and the stinging wind around us turned into a lifting breeze. When I felt his grip lighten suddenly, I looked up and realized that we were much closer to the land than before—a small hill that lead to another larger one next to it. Suddenly worried if he was going to simply drop me, I started panicking and squirming.

Zero flapped his wings one last time, keeping them raised over him, turning out decent into a simple hover. He kept the hover until I was but a few feet from the ground, then he dropped me and continued to fly right on by me.

Although I landed firmly on my feet, I was so shaken and my head spun so uncontrollably that I fell onto my butt in the crop-grazed grass.

I rubbed my spinning head and stinging eyes before I looked around. The trees around here had noisy leaves that twisted in the wind and flickered off the sunlight making them look like they were shimmering. A small breeze roamed over the hill, making my dress ruffle and my hair turn into another whirlwind, and I began to wonder how exactly my hair looked after that flying adventure.

Patting it down, I didn't realized the footsteps approaching from behind.

"Alys." A hand appeared over my shoulder, out-stretched. I froze, even though the voice was one that I knew well. "My clothes, please."

Halting in the beginnings of turning around, I stopped for a moment, then held the disarrayed clothes in my hands over my head.

"You should thank me," Zero said, taking them from my hands. "I could have approached openly, but then you would have freaked out. I had to fly a ways back to make you happy."

"Thanks," I said half-heartily, managing to push myself up off the ground.

"How'd you like flying?" He asked, a smirk in his voice.

"It's sort of mind boggling," I admitted, keeping my gaze away from him. "It's weird to think that you exist."

"I suppose." He walked past me, tying his rope belt around his waist.

I ran to catch up to him climbing up the steady slope of the larger hill. "What's in this village that we're visiting?" I asked, taking hold of my dress so I wouldn't step on it.

He smirked down at me. "You'll see." He helped me up to the top of the hill like I couldn't make it on my own.

Confused, I looked warily down the hill. There was a small village in the narrow valley. Small, but it looked to be prosperous considering all of the merchant stalls around the entrance of the village. There were several huts scattered about, and a small, yet large for this size of town, chapel rose at the head of the village. Although I almost had to strain my eyes to get a better look, I could see many people walking down the webbed streets between the houses and businesses. A few men and younger boys could be seen working in the scattered farmer fields around the houses. The sound of clanking metal and singing from the Seamstress houses could be heard even up on top of the hill.

I smiled. "Such a cute village."

"Ah, but it had more secrets than you would think." Zero headed down the gradual slop of the hill and I followed quickly.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. With the momentum we gained walking down the hill, we approached the village quickly, having to round around a few houses fields to approach the entrance.

Zero may have answered, but the area was so loud I could hardly hear myself think. All the bargainers were yelling out their goods values and all the shoppers were striking deals with the merchants. There were more people here in the narrow path than I first expected, and pushing through people was the only thing I could do to keep Zero in my sight.

Although it worked for a moment, I started to lag behind the easy striding dragon. I wasn't sure what it was, but the people just seemed to move for him and then swarm back around me.

"Zero," I whispered under my breath, as he disappeared from my sight in the crowd. Before I could worry too much, his warm fingers were wrapped around my wrist and tugging me along. I was soon by his side, his hand now on my elbow.

He bent slightly to whisper in my ear. "Is my little human getting lost in the crowd?" He was mocking me with that smile of his, even though his words sounded sincere enough.

"I've never had to deal with anything like this before! Why is it that Stuttgrad is larger than this place, yet there aren't as much people?"

"This village is more economically in place than Stuttgrad is. Most of the merchants traveling to and from the Imperial City stop by in this village since it's on the way."

"Well, it's crazy!" I exalted to him. He laughed at me, pulling me through the last of the crowd. The actual village paths weren't as crowded as the entrance was, but they were still narrow. A handful of children ran about the street, holding straw dolls and sticks, laughing.

Zero let go of my elbow and strolled by the children, who stopped at gazed up at him as he passed in silence. I sighed, wondering if it was that obvious that Zero wasn't human.

Zero led me through a complex of paths through the houses, all made with the same kind of dark wood. They all toward over me and made me realize just how small I was. I knew that if I was on my own, I would've been lost a long time ago. Around what seemed like the 20th corner, he stopped at a house with a small window to the open and a red ornament hanging by the door post. Before I could ask what we were doing, he raised his fist and tapped his knuckles against the door. His knock echoes through the empty path that we were on.

"What's here?" I asked him in a whisper.

He bent slightly over to whisper back. "A friend."

"What's that suppose to—?" Before I could finish my sentence, the door opened a crack.

"Who's there?" I shaky female voice asked.

"Selendrile," Zero said, and I looked up at him in shocked, wondering why he was using his real name.

"SELENDRILE!" Suddenly, the door was flung open and in a dark blur, a girl about a year younger than me was wrapped around Zero torso, her fingers clutched into his wild black hair.

Taken aback, I stuttered out "Zero, w-who's this?"

Before Zero could reply, the girl snapped her head in my direction, flinging her long dark, brown hair over her shoulder, starting at me with her wild brown eyes. They almost seemed to threaten me, and I felt the need to have to take a step back, but I stood my ground firmly. Her beauty was stunning, and, for some reason, I was jealous at the thought of her clinging so warmly to Zero.

She dropped off of Zero, who looked relieved to have her off of him, and she looked me over a couple of times, and I could tell she was getting ready to judge me.

The girl suddenly smiled at me in a sickeningly sweet way. "Oh, you must be Selendrile's warmth!"

I couldn't hide my shock.

_She knows?!_ I thought in panic, realizing just how close she held herself to Zero. _She knows Zero's real identity!?_

_

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_**A woman from Zero's past now! AH! The DRAMA!!!!!  
I'm really sorry to end it here, but you'll just have to wait and see what happens next!**_

_**Question: How do you think Zero knows this girl?**_

**Thanks for reading! Review! :3**


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